Moonlight Sonata
by Schuyler Lola
Summary: JavaJunkie. No longer a one shot. Here's the chapter story. One last dance...and how they got there.
1. Moonlight Sonata

**Disclaimer: **If there's need for a disclaimer, I bet you know what I'm going to say next…

**A/N: **This is in response to yet another challenge on Lorelai90's message board – this time, one I didn't give. Gasp! It has to be about a milestone in the Gilmore world, so I'm trying my hand at a tried-and-true idea, but I'm hoping this one is good, if fluffy. So much fluff here, the cotton is spilling out my computer screen.

Any-who, let the games begin!

Moonlight Sonata

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, OW!" Lorelai managed to twist away from Rory, who was trying to lace up the back of her mother's gown. "What are you trying to do to me, woman?"

"Mom, the point of having a corset-like wedding dress is to actually have it tied up. You're a big girl. Come on," Rory coaxed.

"Why did I ever agree to this? Was I high?" Lorelai wailed, standing still once more.

"You were the one who watched _Marie Antoinette _and said you wanted to wear a corset. And you were fully sober, I might add," Rory replied, pulling at the ribbons. "It was -"

"Oh my God! Are you trying to kill me?!" Lorelai shrieked.

"Honey, if you keep screaming like that, Luke will come in here to find out what's wrong," Sookie soothed. "He'd see you in your wedding dress. That's bad luck."

"I'm not superstitious," Lorelai argued, but agreed to stop screaming at the top of hr lungs.

"There." Rory stepped away so her mother could get a good look at the dress in the mirror. "You won't be able to breathe for the next six hours, but you look beautiful, Mom."

"Yeah," April echoed, having kept mostly silent during the getting ready part. She had stayed out of the way of Rory, Sookie and Lane, who was twirling her drum sticks. Hep Alien was playing at the reception. However, the sticks looked out of place against jer fancy dress.

"We should give her a talk about the seriousness of marriage," Lane murmured to Sookie.

"You think I need a talk about marriage now?" Lorelai asked, shaking her head. "What do you know about marriage, anyway?"

"I am an expert on marriage, Lorelai," Lane affirmed. "You were there."

"Yeah, I remember." She spun around, giving everyone the full effect of her dress. "What do you think? Do I give Marilyn Monroe a run for her money?"

"Bring on the peroxide, then," Rory cheered. She laughed, and then sobered up. 'You would look horrible as a blond."

"Hello, my wedding day? You're supposed to say nice things to me, babe."

Rory shrugged. "It's not applicable to your first-born."

"Oh yeah? Say who?"

"Lorelai." Everyone in the room turned to see Emily, looking as regal as ever.

"Mom…hi." Lorelai felt flustered. He mother hadn't made and appearance all day, and Lorelai couldn't figure out whether or not she was upset about this. "Come join the party."

"That's quite alright, Lorelai. I just came to see how you were coming along." Emily looked around the room, her eyes lighting on Rory and April. "You picked some lovely bridesmaid dresses."

"Thank you, Mom," she replied, taken slightly aback. Examining Emily's eyes a little closer, she found that they were filled with tears, which shocked her even more.

Sookie and Lane seemed to detect the change in atmosphere. "We're going to go get some good seats," Sookie offered. "You look beautiful, sweets." They both gave Lorelai quick hugs and slipped out behind Emily.

"Anyway," her mother said briskly. Lorelai let Emily perform her cover-up of emotions. "Best wishes, Lorelai."

She nodded. "Thanks for coming back, Mom." Emily nodded, looking like she wanted to say something, but didn't. Instead, she handed Lorelai a slim white box, and stepped away, watching the expression on her daughter's face.

"It's the necklace that I bought for your first wedding," Emily said quietly. "To Max." She waited a beat, and then continued, "You wanted to know what I got you. Now you do."

"Wow." Lorelai held up the delicate chain. She placed against the dress, nodded once and unlatched the necklace she was wearing now. She fastened the chain and turned back to Emily, wearing a beaming smile. "Thank you."

Emily shrugged. "It's yours. It was meant to be yours."

"Well, thank anyway."

"I…he makes you happy, doesn't he?" her mother asked. She studied Lorelai's face and than left, not bothering to wait for an answer she already knew. Rory and April emerged from their corner, where they had pretended to be engrossed in some book. Rory inspected the necklace, holding it up to get a better look.

"Wow, Grandma really knows how to pick jewelry, doesn't she?" Rory asked.

"Yeah, she does."

"It's really pretty," April agreed. "Shouldn't we be going out? I mean, the ceremony will be starting soon."

"I'll be just a sec," Rory said. "You go ahead."

Finally, the mother-daughter duo was left alone to talk. "You're getting _married_," Rory breathed.

"I know." Lorelai shivered, goosebumps actually rising on her skin. "Isn't it scary?"

"You're getting married to _Luke._"

"I know, Rory. Have a point here?"

"I knew it!" She danced around the room. "We all knew, and no matter how much you try to be Cleopatra, we'll always be right."

"You know, saying 'I told you so,' is really unbecoming," Lorelai replied.

"So?" Rory hugged her mother. "It's still true."

"Say what you want."

"I will. Are you going to be fashionably late?"

"You won't know until it's time, will you?" Lorelai teased.

"No, I won't." Rory stopped at the doorway. "Have fun doing your last thinking as a single woman."

"I will!"

Lorelai sat at the vanity, taking one last, long look at the mirror. She was filled with butterflies and excitement at the same time. The door on the other side of the room opened and she jumped two feet into the air. "Luke!" she hissed. "You're not supposed to be in here!"

He shrugged. "I'm a maverick. And do you want to know the truth?"

"Yes," she answered, sliding closer to him. "Please tell."

"I couldn't wait." He took her hands. "This is possibly the best day of my life."

"Just possibly?"

"Okay, definitely." He kissed her lightly. "Is that better?"

"Very much so." Lorelai sighed and then pushed him away. "You're not supposed to see me in my wedding dress, Luke!"

"I know, it's bad luck, I'm leaving." He smiled at her. "At least after I get a dance."

"A what?" She realized what he was talking about. The music, some classical piece, was playing in the building and they could hear it faintly. "I don't know. I'm getting married today, sir, and…"

"Just dance, okay?" He took her arm gently and placed a hand on her waist. She closed her eyes, listening to the music and gently swaying back and forth.

"Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"We're going to be late." She inclined her head towards the door, where the could hear the wedding march begin.

Luke mumbled something under his breath, and ran out. "Wait two minutes before appearing!" he called.

Lorelai sat on her stool and laughed. Her wedding would always have some craziness to it, and she couldn't wait for the rest of the ceremony to happen.

Picking up her skirt, she too, ran out to embrace the day.

* * *

Did you like it? Then press the pretty review button! 


	2. Weekend Worries

**A/N: **Methinks all of these reviews begging for more and alerts are signs from the gods telling me that I should continue with this story. Fine. The gods and reviewers win. But don't think I'll be so quick to agree next time. I'm working on my willpower. :)

Disclaimers apply from here on in. I don't have much of a time line, so I can't give you a frame of season to work with, but let's say, after Chris and Lorelai broke up. Capiche?

Chapter 2: Weekend Worries

**One year earlier…**

"Are you sure?" Rory asked, frowning, staring at Lorelai, as if trying to find some sort of answer to life in her mother's face. "I can stay a few more days. School doesn't start up for -"

"I'm fine. All these questions and reassurances are a little creepy, babe." Lorelai crossed her arms and gave the stare right back to Rory.

"Creepy how? Like 'Beware the Ides of March' creepy or 'When a Stranger Calls' creepy?"

"More like Snakes on a Plane creepy."

"You hate that movie."

"I know! But you are asking me to compare my creepy with Shakespeare's creepy and a lame horror movie's creepy. Not going to work, Rory." She kissed her daughter. "Okay, go back to school. Mommy can't have her baby worrying about her; she has to worry about her baby."

"That doesn't seem fair to me. I'm not allowed to worry about you, but you get worry about me?" Rory was the one to cross her arms and pout now.

"Honey, we're arguing over who gets to worry, a task that is not envied by anybody, not even Kirk. Besides, you're the kid, I'm the mom. I trump you, so I get to worry. Go back to school; I'll call you if I need anyone to eat ice cream with."

"Okay." Rory kissed her mother's cheek dubiously and looked over her shoulder as she made her way to the car. She kept staring back at Lorelai, who manufactured a smile out from nowhere-land and put it on; trying to convince Rory that she was fine. Lorelai waved happily, and finally Rory pulled out of the driveway. She sighed, the strain of trying to put on a happy face killing her. Lorelai went back into the house, shivering in her thin t-shirt. The winter was unforgiving to her soul and her body. The house was a far nicer sanctuary. Especially since she had evicted all of Chris's things from the house.

Contrary to popular belief, she wasn't high maintenance. Just a little particular about what she needed to have, that was all. She didn't need the plasma screen TV and she liked all of her crazy lamps, which she had brought out of her attic. The house was starting to feel like hers again, pre-Christopher/ Lorelai marriage days, pre-Luke/ Lorelai days. She was reverting back to the way she had been, all those years ago. Was it really years ago?

Lorelai rummaged through a box in her closet, coming up with a calendar. Yes, it was years ago. But it was never going to be that way again – Rory didn't live at home anymore. The Independence Inn was non-existent. Sookie had three kids and was married to Jackson. Luke has a daughter, and they weren't really friends anymore. Lane was married, too, with twin boys. Taylor had added the soda shoppe to his holdings now, and some of the shops that had been in Stars Hollow had disappeared. Fran was no longer around, but Weston's still was, trying to be comforting to her when she was upset.

With panic in her mind's eye, she started to account for all of the things that had changed since Rory was in high school. They were numerous, and too many to count. She started to feel tightness in her chest. Was her life slipping away before she knew it? Flipping faster through the calendar, she started reading the notes she had made about town meetings on Thursdays and what had happened. She never understood why she did that, but now she was beginning to get it. She wanted to remember what had happened before, and what was might come. Some of her speculations, like _Gypsy has a secret love child with Taylor_, were scrawled on the backs of receipts and on the squares of calendars. She sat back on her heels and let the calendar drop to the floor.

When had the last time been that she had felt this scared of the future? When Rory graduated high school, and she was confronted with the fact she only had eight weeks before her daughter would leave? No, she had only been sad and kind of regretful then. Was it when…it was when she had ventured out of the Gilmore house, and knew she had to find a way to live away from them.

Lorelai took a deep breath. In, out. In, out. Okay. She could do this. She could figure out what had gone wrong in the last few years and try to fix it, instead of becoming another almost-forty divorcee. She didn't want an instant membership into that world yet. She wasn't ready for that. She was still young, she was!

One foot in front of the other. She made her way to the closet and opened the door, with smooth, deliberate motions. She took out her favourite red coat, because she needed the comfort of something familiar. And, she looked damn good in red. Feeling sexy wouldn't hurt at this time, not when she needed the confidence the most.

"I cannot believe I am going to do this," she sing-songed and locked the door, something she usually never did, but was making a habit of. She wanted everything to be there when she came back, because everything was starting to disappear on her. "I'm certifiable, for sure, if there was doubt before."

She went outdoors, dodging the rain-snow combo, hopped into the jeep and started to drive, heading straight out of Stars Hollow.

* * *

Like it? Hate it? Think I should have my creative license revoked? Tell me, so I know. They're be more LL stuff later (obviously). 


	3. Cake Cutting Theory

**A/N: **Merci to everyone who has reviewed/read/added to favourites or alerts. I would tell you I love you all right now, but I'm not quite that nice. We'll see how you like me later…when I single-handedly destroy your lives. There's going to be twists in here, even if you know how it's going to end up.

Thanks to Shalooblah for the format idea.

Oh, and yeah, because I can, I'm going to credit Gordon Lightfoot and the soundtrack of the _Little Mermaid_ for inspiration. Just go with it.

Chapter 3: Cake Cutting Theory

**Wedding Day**

Luke tried not to laugh as he watched Lorelai extend her lower lip and hold out the knife handle to him. "I am not cutting the cake with you," he declared adamantly. "I told you that." He wasn't about to admit he was ready to cave any second. That, she would use as a weapon against him and then remind him for the rest of his life, if he admitted defeat before she did something crazy enough to convince him.

"Luke!" Lorelai pouted even more. "Do you not remember my allergy to anything related to cooking?"

"That's a knife. You can't possibly burn anything with that, since you're not cooking."

"I could slip and cut off my hand. Do you want a one-handed wife? I could end up with a hook instead of a left hand? Can you imagine the harm I could do with a hook?"

"Fine." He placed his hand on top of her own and they pushed the knife into the cake, to the cheers of the people around them.

Rory leaned over. "You have frosting on the knife, Mom."

"I thought that was a birthday thing only," Lorelai replied, squishing up her nose.

"Well, maybe. But not the point." Rory took the knife from her mother's hand. "It's a wedding thing, now, too."

"You mean I get to do it at your wedding?" Lorelai exclaimed. "Yes!"

He waited for them to finish whatever it was they were talking about. Even after all of these years, Luke didn't try to pretend that he knew what they were talking about half the time. He kissed Lorelai's hair, to get her attention. "What are you talking about?" he mumbled.

"You'll see," Rory said wickedly, swiping her finger along the edge of the knife. He stared, panicked for a second, and then realized that she was just getting the frosting off. A wave of relief washed over him. The Gilmores were dangerous to have around things sharper than an unsharpened pencil.

Rory took the frosting and dabbed it on her mother's nose. "Ha! You cannot get rid of it for the rest of the meal. Am I doing Luke, too?"

Lorelai grinned at him. "How do you think he would look, then?"

"It's done." Rory managed to dab him on the nose before he turned away, half-heartedly. He enjoyed the laughter coming from Lorelai and the smirk from Rory, as her eyes sparkled, having gotten him to join into the game.

"And, now…" Rory whipped out her camera. "Say…cake!"

"This I draw the line at," Lorelai objected, earning herself glares from everyone in earshot.

"It's a wedding, honey," Sookie called.

A flash temporarily blinded everyone, and Rory emerged, giggling. She showed the photo, and Lorelai covered her eyes, sinking back into her chair.

* * *

**A year earlier…**

She drove into a driveway, stopped the jeep and glared at her reflection in the rearview mirror. "Cracked, crazy, nutty, insane," she said aloud. "You'll need mental help after this visit."

She marched up to the door and rang the doorbell, like every other time. Another terrified maid appeared, and she gave a tight smile to her. "Hi, I'm Lorelai. The daughter."

"Oh." The maid snatched her coat and scuttled off but not before a quick shout in the direction of Emily. Lorelai marched into the room, with nothing but purpose in her steps. She needed a nice, harsh dose of reality from her mother, or at least some nice, harsh advice, and she wasn't above going to ask for it. Not right now, anyway.

"Lorelai!" Emily exclaimed. "I didn't know you were even here. Martina should've announced you appropriately. Honestly, that girl…"

"Well, Mom, I'm here now, aren't I?" she interrupted, not wanting to get Emily into a tangent about how she hadn't had a good maid since 1972.

"Would you like something to drink?"

"I would love a cup of coffee right now," Lorelai said. She realized she hadn't had a coffee all _day_. What was she trying to do to her self? Jeez.

Emily disappeared, leaving her daughter to look around the familiar room. Lots of things had happened in here. She hoped she wasn't about to add another unhappy memory to the room. She just needed to know, from everyone. She wasn't going to give up until she got all the answers she needed.

Lorelai accepted the cup of coffee from her mother and watched as Emily sat across from her, folding her hands. "Lorelai, will you tell me why you are here, now that I have given your main nutrition staple?

"Yes." She put the coffee down and took a serious tone of voice. "Was I wrong?"

"Lorelai," Emily began in her I-am-extremely-annoyed-with-you voice, 'I'm tired. I have a headache, a Dar meeting in half an hour and I don't have time to play the Lorelai version of Cryptoquote."

"Fine." She mentally sifted through the different versions of her tale. She decided to opt for the safe, edited version. "Well, marrying Chris so soon after I broke it off with Luke."

"I don't think I'm the best person for this." Emily looked unsure. "Why don't you call Rory? You two are so close…much closer than…this."

"Mom, I don't want a censored opinion. Rory would ease it in; try to make it pain-free. You'll just tell me, whether I want to hear it or not."

"Why, thank you, Lorelai, for making me sound heartless."

"I didn't mean it that way."

The two women stared at one another in a stalemate. "Fine," Emily said. "I'll tell you, if you want to hear."

Lorelai nodded. "Shoot."

* * *

Okay, periwinkle button? Please press it.


	4. Conversations with My Mother

**A/N: **Thanks for all of the reviews. And here we go…

Chapter 4: Conversations with My Mother

**Past - One year ago...**

Emily leaned forward and stared Lorelai directly in the eye. "You know I've never been that fond of Luke…"

"Get on with the show, Mom!" Lorelai tapped her foot.

"Lorelai, when you are asking someone for help, you do not bite their head off," Emily began. "You let them say what they need to say, and you especially do not snap at your mother."

She sighed, and plastered on a remorseful expression. "Sorry, Mom. Please, go on." _Jeez. _

"Thank you, Lorelai." Emily crossed her legs and composed herself once more. "I was saying, I am not fond of Luke. I do not think…you know what I think. However, he made you happy, didn't he?"

"Well…"

"He did," Emily asserted. "You were happy, Rory was happy. Despite my views on Luke, I knew that that was best for you, after some correction."

"And…?" Lorelai was impatient; she couldn't help it. She wanted an answer, no matter what. And Emily was taking quite the trip to get around to the point.

"And clearly, it didn't work out." Emily made a motion that could've been constructed as a shrug on any other person, except her and the Queen. "I was pleasantly surprised when you and Christopher got married."

"You made no secret of that, Mother. In fact, you looked like -"

"Lorelai! Please!" Emily shot a glare in her daughter's direction. "My goodness."

Lorelai crossed her arms and waited, pretending she wasn't really sulking. "Although, after I saw you and Christopher together after a few weeks into your marriage, it was clear you were unhappy now. I wasn't surprised when your marriage ended, Lorelai."

"Now, why is that, Mom?" Lorelai asked, biting the bait and just wishing that, for once, Emily could make things easy on her.

"You weren't in the relationship with Chris. Now to answer your question, I think you just weren't ready for that. You may have hurt Luke, but you've managed to stay friends. He came to the hospital, Lorelai…Lorelai? Are you listening?"

"Yes, I am." She sipped at her now cold coffee. "You said that you weren't surprised and that Luke and I were still friends." _As if, Mom. I wish._

"Well, aren't you?" Emily threw down her hands. "Are you saying that you and Luke never had any closure? Then why on earth would he come to the hospital?"

"Mom, I never said -"

"Well, honestly! If I had known -"

"You know, Mom, I'm going to get going," Lorelai announced, feeling the weight of this conversation slide off as soon as she stood. "Thanks for the talk, Mom. It, uh, really helped." _Healthy dose of reality, yeah right. More like useless waste of time. Why do I never assess all options before coming here? I'm like those kids in horror films – you keep screaming, "No! Don't go in that creepy, dark cave!" And then they do it anyway, when you know there's a serial killer in there, waiting. Guess who's the serial killer?_ "I'll see you Friday."

Emily followed her daughter to the door, trying to keep up with Lorelai's frantic pace. She held the door to keep it from swinging shut as Lorelai strode to her jeep. "Lorelai!" she called.

She stopped moving, shut the jeep door and walked slowly back up to Emily. "Yes, Mom?"

"You were wrong, but you didn't mean to be."

"Thanks." Lorelai nodded slightly and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. That was surprisingly…_nice_. Comforting. Lorelai needed to hear that. Strange, coming from Emily, but it was nice all the same. "I'll see you Friday," she repeated.

"Good afternoon, Lorelai," Emily replied stiffly, a contrast with her demeanor before. Lorelai arched an eyebrow in question, but let it go. Emily was not one to offer any kind of words like that very often.

She shut the door to the jeep and started it up. Emily watched for a minute, and then went back inside, where she belonged.

_Where she belonged. _Lorelai applied some pressure to the gas pedal. She was on a mission to go find that out.

* * *

**Wedding Day - Present**

Lane nudged Rory from their spot, sitting on the grass in the square, watching the festivities. "She looks happy. Doesn't she look happy?"

"Yeah, she looks happy," Rory echoed. "I'm happy."

"I think you might be a little drunk, too," Lane observed.

"I only had…hey, not funny. You're not so nice when you're supposedly teasing." Rory glared. "How come you're being so good tonight? The first party you ever went to, you got falling over drunk, and called your mother."

"I'm a mother, now, Rory. I have to be good."

"Someone should've told Zach that." Lane followed Rory's line of staring and smiled.

"He's going to be fine. Besides, that's only his first."

"You count?"

"I've got a family to take care of."

"So I've heard." Rory lay back on the grass. "You think that it's safe to leave the boys with Mrs. Kim for more than your usual four hours?"

"If she set them on fire, we would've known by now, Ror." Lane shrugged. "She adores my boys."

"I know." Rory looked back at the tables. Luke and Lorelai were laughing, and clearly enjoying their conversation, while everyone else was involved in the jokes and the laughter that came from the good-natured taunting that Miss Patty and Babette had started. "This is nice, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is," Lane replied dreamily.

"Rory, Rory!" Sookie came running up to the pair. "You're first up for the toasts, you know!"

"We're doing the toasts now?" Rory looked slightly bewildered.

"Yes, we are. You know Lorelai will never remember them otherwise. Come on!" Sookie pulled Rory to her feet and they left Lane to search for her seat.

Lane made her way to her table and tapped Zach's arm. "Hey, where you been, Lane?"

"With Rory."

"You chicks talking girl stuff, huh?"

She nodded. "They're doing the toasts soon. Rory gets to go up first."

A loud tap came from the stage. Rory was there, wearing a beaming smile. She laughed a bit before starting in. "My mother is a…creative person…" The crowd laughed, and she grinned even wider. "Are you sure you want me to go on, Mom?"

"Please do!" Lorelai called. "I need to hear where this is going!"

"Fine, but you asked…"


	5. Of Stuffed Peppers and Champagne

**A/N: **Thank you for your reviews, as always.

Chapter 5: Of Stuffed Peppers and Champagne

**Past – One year ago…**

"What was I thinking?" Lorelai cried, bursting into the kitchen of the Dragonfly.

"Whoa, sweetie." Sookie kept chopping onions, narrowly missing her fingers. "Are you talking about the new drapes in the guest rooms? Because they look fabulous. Uber- fabulous, actually."

"No, Sookie, I'm talking about the positioning of the front desk," Lorelai replied sarcastically, pouring herself a cup of coffee.

"The desk is fine. It's been there since we opened."

"I'm not talking about the inn, Sookie."

"Then what are you talking about?" Sookie put down the knife, a safe idea, and face Lorelai. "You came running in here with a random question that could be about anything. What was I supposed to think? I'm not the Amazing Kreskin."

"I know. I'm sorry." she leaned on the counter. "Do you want me to reiterate that?"

"No, I want to remain in the dark and never know." Sookie glared. "Yes!"

"I'll tell you, then." Lorelai glanced at the door and rolled her eyes. "Do you need help with something, Michel, or did you get lost?"

"Maybe he got lonely at the front desk," Sookie suggested.

"Yeah, Michel, did you get lonely?" Lorelai teased.

"How funny the both of you are," Michel commented, almost bored. "I would laugh but I do not have the energy."

Lorelai sighed audibly. "What do you want, Michel?"

"I though you would never ask," he replied. "I need you to sign this, initial this, and sign this."

"Why didn't you just leave them in my office?" Lorelai asked.

"Because John is going to mail our letters and bills in half an hour," Michel snapped. "They need to be signed now!"

"Got a pen, Grinch?"

"Yeah, you really are cranky today, Michel. Is something wrong?" Sookie queried.

He ignored her and swiped the papers off the counter, shooting poison darts in Lorelai's direction. "To me, you are Meryl Streep in _The Devil Wears Prada_. You make my life a living hell."

"Aww, I love you too!" she called as he stormed back out to the front. She laughed for a few moments and then looked back at Sookie. "What are we talking about again?"

"What you were thinking." Sookie was whisking eggs in a bowl now. "Except I have no idea what you were talking about."

"Oh, right." Lorelai leaned back on the counter, clutching her coffee mug. "What was I thinking with Christopher?"

"What phase are we talking about?" Sookie asked. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine or ten?"

"I have ten phases of Christopher?" Lorelai retorted.

"Yes, you do." Sookie started to tick them off on her fingers. "One, you were kids and thought you were in love. Two, you were going to be parents and supposed to be getting married. Three, you took off and he didn't try, so you weren't speaking. Four, you were annoyed with him because he didn't make the effort to see his own daughter, even when he could. Five, you were friendly and eventually tried to get together. Six, you were fighting and Rory was on your side. Seven, he was a pawn in Emily's plans and you were fighting again. Eight, you were finally friends. Nine, you were married. Ten, you're divorced."

"I'm impressed that you've managed to map out my relationship with him."

"Trust me, it was really hard. What phase are we talking about, anyway?"

"The marriage phase. Tenth, I think." Lorelai took a gulp of her coffee. "I have more phases than the moon." She glared at Sookie. "Don't say anything about _that_."

"I wasn't going to!" Sookie protested. "You want to know what you were thinking when you married Christopher?"

"Yes."

"Okay, see that's a bit of a problem, Lorelai." She sprinkled spices into something. "I'm not you, so I don't know what you're thinking, no matter how much I try."

"Well, I need a suggestion, Sookie!" Lorelai's voice rose an octave. "I've been trying to think of a reason, and I'm coming up with a big, fat nothing!"

"Maybe you were drunk?"

"No, if I was drunk, I wouldn't have remembered it at all." Lorelai began pacing the kitchen, her heels clattering on the tile. "I wish I had been drunk."

"Okay, so you weren't drunk," Sookie agreed, soothingly. "Do you know what you were thinking?"

"No!" Lorelai exclaimed. "Other than that we were in Paris and it was romantic, no. I have nary a clue."

Sookie smiled at the counter. "Honey, I think you have to figure out the mess you put yourself in."

"Yeah, I guess." She sighed. "'Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when we first practice to deceive.'"

"It's easier to lie to you than it is to others, though," Sookie pointed out.

"Trust me, I think I do both quite well." Lorelai put the cup in the sink. "Thanks for the coffee, Sook."

"Not a problem." She moved back onto the chopping. "Are you going back out to the front?"

"I am."

"Oh, wait. Try this before you go." Sookie handed her a stuffed pepper. 'I'm experimenting again."

Lorelai popped it into her mouth. "Mmm, that's really good."

"Are you just saying that?"

"Yes and no. I love you and your food."

"I can't figure out the best one if you just tell me they're all good!" Sookie wailed.

"Bye, Sookie. I'm leaving now," Lorelai trilled.

"See you later, Lorelai," Sookie called. "And mix up Michel's Post-Its for me!"

"Already done. I got to them while he was yelling at Frank." Lorelai laughed, clearly delighted by her childish trick, and waltzed out of the kitchen.

Sookie let her smile fade as she continued to chop the onions. Lorelai was trying again, at the very least. But the questioning, the rapid mood swings, the days where she studiously avoided having any coffee were starting to worry her and everyone around Lorelai. Even insensitive Michel had felt Lorelai's paradigm shift, and had gone so far as to comment about it to Sookie. Rory had already specifically warned a few people to call her if they thought something was wrong. That girl was massively overprotective of her mother.

Rory wasn't the person to call in this instance, but Sookie knew who could be.

* * *

**Wedding Day – Present**

Luke gave Rory an encouraging smile as she waited for laughter to die down a little. He squeezed Lorelai's hand to get her attention, and she turned to him with a dramatic pout. "It's going to be mean, isn't it? You know, don't you?"

"I do not know," he argued.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "If you say so."

"I do say so. Listen to your daughter."

"Fine." She kissed him quickly.

Rory giggled again, up on stage. She was giddy. She was just really, really happy, too. And, like Lane suspected, perhaps a little drunk. "There are many things that I could say about Mom. Everyone has their own stories, and their own memories of her.

"We all know that for years, Mom has gone to Luke's to get her daily dose of caffeine. He always gave the coffee to her, grudgingly at the best of times." She pulled a photo out of her pocket. "One time, we went to somewhere that was noticeably not Luke's. This was on a trip we took, to North Carolina. We stopped, on the way home, at a little roadside café, after Mom had spent the last few hours whining about wanting coffee. Grandma pulled over, to shut her up.

"She ordered a large coffee and literally inhaled its contents. Then, she said, and I quote, 'This is the best coffee I ever had.' I took this picture of Mom kissing the coffee cup.

"So, Luke, I just wanted you to know that your coffee is now just second-rate." Rory smiled. "I love you, Mom, and I love you, too, Luke. Cheers!"

Luke took a swallow of champagne, and kissed Lorelai's cheek. "You didn't even wince, drinking that," she whispered.

"My coffee is second best now, huh?" he replied.

"I never said that!" she objected. "Rory's stirring up trouble."

"Sure, I believe you," he teased, his breath light on her neck.

"That's good." She ran a finger down the side of his face. "I said it was the best next to yours."

"I know you did."

"So, who's dredging up your secrets?" she asked.

Luke smiled down at her. "Wait and see."

* * *

As always, reviews are appreciated. 


	6. Ask a Question, Expect an Answer

**A/N: **I apologize for the delay. I have no excuses except that I have almost no time anymore! Thanks everyone for the reviews, though.

Chapter 6: Ask a Question, Expect an Answer

**Wedding Day (Present) **

Lorelai had been avoiding going over to her parents' table all evening. She was still surprised they had come. _Of course they came. Even if you are horrible to them and them to you, it's blood ties or family duty or something that brought them here. Or maybe, it's Rory. Either way, they're here. Make up your mind. Either you're happy they're here or not. _"Mom, Dad," she greeted, finding that her smile was indeed genuine. "Enjoying dinner?"

"It is certainly interesting," Emily conceded. "Did you get Sookie to cater it?"

"She wouldn't have come otherwise," Lorelai joked.

"I see." Awkward silence all around.

Richard gave his daughter a winning smile. "Best wishes, Lorelai," he offered her.

"Thank you, Dad," she said. "I'll come by later."

"We'll see you later, Lorelai," he replied. They watched as she danced off, and started a rousing conversation with some of the townspeople. Emily winced. "It wasn't that bad, Emily," he said sharply.

"No, you're right." She scowled. "It might have been much, much worse."

Richard focused on the food. It had been much, much worse. The, he banished the thought. Everyone was fine. Now.

* * *

**Rory's Apartment (Past) **

Lorelai was lying on Rory's floor, while the girl in question was sitting on the bed, staring down at her mother. "Why are you down there?" Rory finally asked, tilting her head.

"It's comfortable." Lorelai propped her head up with a hand. "Shows the world in a new perspective."

Rory raised her eyebrows. "Riiight." She swung her legs over the side of the bed. "I thought you thought this apartment was hell on Earth."

"I never said that."

"You did, however, say that this place looked like the motel room in Psycho after she got killed. In front of Paris, I might add."

"Okay…so I may have been initially opposed to you living here." Lorelai sat up. "I got over it."

"After bribery."

"Not true! I love that you live in a crappy apartment and eat really cheap Thai food every night."

"Oh, sure." Rory rolled her eyes. "Why are you here, Mom?"

"Because I miss my daughter?"

"You have an aura of purpose." Rory smirked after that.

Lorelai sat up, her hair falling every which way. "I give off auras now?"

"Just an aura. Not plural, yet."

"Fine, I'm giving off an aura. Why the rush to get it out? Do you have some fake studying to do, just to get rid of me? Do you have dinner with Logan? Or have you decided to hate me?"

"Mom…"

"I know when I'm not wanted!" Lorelai pretended to wipe away tears, and spoke in a melodramatic tone. "You'll miss me when I'm gone!"

"Oh, my God." Rory collapsed, laughing. "You are nuts!"

Lorelai looked immensely pleased with herself. "Well, you inherited some crazy, crazy genes yourself. Me, your grandmother, your great-aunt Molly – she was the nuttiest of them all. She once -"

Rory held up a hand. "I don't even want to know."

"Are you sure?" Lorelai squished up her nose. "If you ever go crazy, you need to know f there's a history."

"Mom, get back on topic."

"We never had a topic."

Rory let out a strangled breath. "Why did you come here?"

Lorelai's shoulders sagged. "I came to ask you a question."

"Why couldn't you -"

"This isn't a phone conversation kind of question, Rory."

"Oh." Rory climbed off the bed to sit on the floor. "Okay."

"Is Paris home?" Lorelai seemed to want complete privacy, even though Paris had almost enough tact to leave them alone.

"Of course not. She's researching a career in psychology. That, or participating in some crazy senior activity."

"Oh. Good." She took a breath. "Am I crazy? Was I completely off my rocker to get together with Chris? Should I have stayed with Luke? What is wrong with me?

"Oh. Heavy questions," Rory murmured.

"I waited until I could talk to you to ask the questions. You know more or less the story. Better than Sookie or Mom, anyway."

"Okay." It was Rory's turn to breathe. "I think you were hurt and upset and doing that thing where you weren't thinking. I think that you needed to someone to take care of you and I was having my own meltdown because Logan was leaving, and you didn't know where to go. Everyone else had something better to do, so you fell back on Dad, the one who's always been waiting for you, even if you haven't been interested."

"That's not good enough to make anything right."

"I know. But it's a start."

"It sounds stupid." Lorelai reverted to pacing around Rory's tiny bedroom. "I'm a pathetic cliché."

"I don't think you're a cliché yet, Mom."

"Not helping, Rory."

"Sorry." she watched her mother pace, agitated and clearly sad. "Mom? Do you miss him?"

Lorelai had ended up at the window, looking distastefully out at the dingy street. "Which him, Rory?"

"You know who I'm talking about."

"Yeah." Lorelai had a half-smile on her face. "Yeah, I do."

"Are you going to tell him?"

"No."

"Alright." Rory picked herself off the floor and went over to the window. She reached down and squeezed Lorelai's hand.

* * *

**Stars Hollow (Past) **

She walked down the street. She had just returned from Rory's, under protest. She made something up about having to get back to the inn. When, in actuality, the inn was fine. It was a slow week. Michel was nicer when he thought he was in charge and that was fine with her. If it kept him from killing the guests, she was fine.

She had gone to see Sookie, who was at home, with Davey and Martha and complaining about being pregnant again. Lorelai had made an effort to be chirpy and her usual self – "Well, that's why I didn't get pregnant again. You can't wear heels with swollen ankles."

She walked into Doose's, thinking absently about getting some Red Vines. She had a craving for licorice.

It wasn't till too late that she saw Luke's familiar stance in the coffee aisle. "Hi," she said.

"Oh, uh, hello." He held up the coffee can. "Ran out again."

"That's not good."

"No."

"I needed some -"

"Junk food. You always do."

"That's true."

Luke cleared his throat. "So, I've gotta get going."

"Oh, yeah, me too."

"Well, I'll see you."

"Yeah."

She leaned against the end of the shelf, watching him go. For some reason, those few awkward words had lifted her spirits higher than they had been in months.


	7. Lamplight

**A/N: **Again, I apologize for the delay. I have way more free time now, so I hope to get these chapters out faster…although, my latest fic in the NUMB3RS fandom is attempting to take over my life, and so we'll see.

Chapter 7: Lamplight

**Wedding Day (Present)**

Babette leaned across the table. "We all knew this would happen. I'm just so damn happy!"

Miss Patty nodded in agreement. "It's about time he saw the light. I had such hopes for them years ago…They remind me of my second husband and I in our honeymoon stage."

"Which was one was that?" Babette shook her head. "Never mind, sugar, I won't remember in the mornin'."

"Can't imagine Luke in a honeymoon stage." Miss Patty chuckled. "Who would have thought that anyone could change him that much?"

"We knew the first time she went in there that she had some special power over him," Babette added.

"He can't say no to her." Miss Patty folded her hands, watching the happy couple. "Well, no one can."

"Exactly." Babette also looked in the direction of Stars Hollow's golden couple. "Taylor was wrong. They didn't ruin the town unity."

"For a while, it looked it. We were walking on eggshells."

"Now…" Babette let the sentence peter out.

Miss Patty smiled. "Now, indeed."

* * *

April had sidled up to Rory and sat down with her, gaping at the pile of food on Rory's plate. "Wow," she said finally.

"What?" Rory looked confused. "Oh." She laughed, her cheeks flushed with the slight glow of champagne. "You'll understand when you go to college. You learn to appreciate food of all kinds. Real food too, not just the junk food I ate for the first twenty-two years of my life."

"I don't think I've ever seen that much food in my life," April said matter-of-factly.

"Then we're having a movie night before you go back to New Mexico," Rory announced. "Luke will hate it, but whatever. What movies do you like?"

"I never really watched movies. TV shows were always more interesting. There's time for more character development," April replied.

"So true." Rory put down her fork. "We'll have to haul out the classics…_Casablanca_, _Breakfast at Tiffany's_, _Sixteen Candles_…ooh, _Pay It Forward_ is really good and so is _Grumpy Old Men_…and of course, you'll have to watch _The Notebook_."

"I never really found _The Notebook _a very interesting idea," April said.

"It's not that. It's that Luke, I'm pretty sure, tears up at the ending. Any movie that does that for us is automatically movie-night material." Rory took up a spoonful of cake, her third piece.

April laughed a little. "This I want to see, then."

"You will. Mom will make sure of it."

* * *

**Luke's Diner (Past)**

Luke scowled. A dark cloud had settled over his features. That cloud happened to be named Kirk. "Kirk. Order."

"Luke, I can't be rushed. This is a crucial moment. What if I order the eggs because you rushed me and find out that it's not an egg day? You can't destroy the balance of things.' Kirk continued to study the page.

"It's not written in Gnommish, Kirk!" Luke clenched his coffee pot. "Coffee while you figure out this life changing decision?"

"I don't know." Kirk flipped to the beverage section of the menu. "I might have to have juice today…it could be a juice day."

"Fine! I give up!" Luke threw up his hands. "You come here every day, every damn meal. I feed you more than your mother does."

"Between you and me, Luke, you're a much better cook than Mother." Kirk leaned forward confidentially. "Actually the only thing that she makes better than you is borscht, but I've never had a chance to taste your -"

"Shut up, Kirk!" Luke moved away from the counter, to the tables next to the front window. Outside, they were setting up for the Firelight Festival. Giant stars, streamers, booths, the wood for the fire. He stopped and just watched people move crates around, and put up decorations. The whole town went crazy over the festival, which he realized was in three days. It would be like an episode of ALF, with all of the insanity. Except in this, there was no alien. However, Luke knew someone who might pass for an alien.

Luke kept watching the bustle of setting up for the festival outside. He saw a glimpse of dark hair, and his heart did that thing when he saw someone he knew.

He was wrong. This person he didn't know; had never seen in all of his years living in Stars Hollow. The person was most likely a tourist. But for some reason, Luke found himself associating the tourist with Lorelai and couldn't figure out why.

It was just like he had always associated cherry pie with the day they had first met each other.

* * *

**The Crap Shack (Past)**

"No, I want…" Lorelai paused to listen to the equally irate Emily on the other line. "Mom, please! I can't come okay? I have work. I know that's hard for you to understand, but could you please just try? I have to go. I'll see you on Friday." With a fierce click, Lorelai jabbed the 'End' button, and chucked the phone on the couch. "Ughhh." She placed her face in her hands. Emily was impossible. But that was life. "Why do I do this?" she asked her monkey lamp. "Get a call from my _mother_ and expect that it would go without mishaps? I'm setting myself up for pain and agony. I should just get a phone with caller ID."

The lamp didn't move. The light bulb didn't even burn out. "I should've also known that a stupid lamp wouldn't give me answers." Lorelai got up to wander to her kitchen, mimicking Emily's voice. "_Lorelai, you should remember your family duty. You expect me to come to certain events, I expect the same. You should find time out of your 'busy' schedule to attend Leticia Walker's charity ball. She gave us a table, and mentioned that you should come._" she yanked open the fridge, staring despondently at the empty innards. "She's insane! I have never liked, never will like, and can't stand those stupid society things." She sighed. "You know you're going crazy when…"

The house was silent after her little tirade. That was the way things were, now. She came home to a silent house, and ate food by herself. She was a Dickens novel. _A Christmas Carol_, pre-ghosts. Miserable and pathetic.

She grabbed a coat and managed to find some shoes that matched in the pile on the floor. She looked at them a little closer. They were Rory's. Oops.

The door slammed behind her, blown partially by the wind; her ill-humour doing the rest of the slamming. She strolled through town, admiring the Firelight Festival decorations, and reminding herself to get Rory down for the celebration. Star-shaped hotdogs made the greatest meal ever.

She decided on going to Weston's, in search of a rumball. The sidewalk was unusually packed for Stars Hollow. "Where did all these people come from?" she asked no one in particular.

She narrowly dodged hitting a person, who stopped and smiled at her. "Hey, Lorelai."

Lorelai swallowed. "Hey, April."


	8. The Perfect Stranger

**A/N: **Clearly, I'm nothing short of a liar, as once, again, it's been a while between updates. Sorry, I swear! I didn't mean to wait this long.

And, yeah, I'm depressed, too, about our Gilmore Girls. I'll probably keep writing, but since I'm in the first stage – denial – I might be spending all my time denying and not updating this one. Just a heads up. I want to finish it, I really do.

Chapter 8: The Perfect Stranger

**Stars Hollow (Past)**

April smiled, either not noticing Lorelai's complete distress or wanting to make her feel at ease. Either way, it pushed Lorelai further into a catatonic state. "Hi, Lorelai. Enjoying the winter? I am. It's so much better than the constant, blaring summer in New Mexico. I mean, the summer is good for swimming, but it's a little weird to have no snow in January."

Lorelai found her voice. "Yeah. Yeah. Winter is good." She didn't trust herself to try and put any more words together.

"Dad told me you had a thing for winter. He said you were crazy over it." April cocked her head, waiting.

She was looking for an answer. Right. Lorelai cleared her throat. "Uh, yeah. I always made a big deal out of it when Rory was little. Now, we just go for snow walks."

"Rory goes to Yale, right?" Lorelai nodded and April went on. "I'd love to go to Yale."

"It's a good school," Lorelai said. "I, uh, have to get…"

"Yeah. It was really nice to see you!" April waved.

"It was," Lorelai replied faintly, watching the teenager leave. She sighed. _What happened to your tough skin, Lorelai? Talking to your ex-fiancé's daughter breaks you up now?_

Belligerently, Lorelai shoved open the door to Weston's and plunked down at one of the tiny tables. She was beginning to think that it was too cheerful for her morbid frame of mind. Like Doris Day trying to cheer up Marilyn Manson. She couldn't imagine the hole in their dimension that would tear. The idea of sugar flowers made her stomach turn over. Up she went, and out of Weston's, hoping that no one saw that display of haphazard behaviour. If she wasn't careful, she could become the next Kirk.

* * *

"_You called; I'm not here. Deal with it._" The beep sounded, and Lorelai heard a rush of static from the phone, where the other person sighed. "Hey, Mom, I was just calling to see if you wanted to talk about what we're going to do this weekend, but you're not there, so I'll call later. Love you!"

_Beep_. "Lorelai, where have you been? I wish to discuss your refusal of the charity ball -" She hit the mute button on this one.

_Beep_. "Hey, sweetie, where are you? I thought you were coming in today. Anyway, just calling to see if you were at home. Maybe you're in your office. I'll go check. I made triple chocolate cookies! Bye!"

Lorelai didn't move from her spot on the couch. She liked it there, with only Paul Anka, who wouldn't analyze what was wrong with her.

* * *

**Wedding Day (Present)**

"What are you thinking about?" Lorelai whispered into Luke's ear, having come from behind, and startling him. She placed a hand on his shoulder. Luke enjoyed the weight of her hand, and reached up to run his hand over the rings that were there. The engagement ring that he had originally gotten her and that band from today, his favourite of the two.

"What should I thinking about?' he asked, teasing her.

"Well, how hot I look tonight, because I'm not sure, and I need reassurance. That's why I said yes, you know. To have someone boost my ego." She smiled, the dim light creating shadows across her face.

"You look beautiful," Luke replied, returning the smile.

"Thank you." She sat beside him, moving her chair over. "You don't look so bad yourself." She kissed him, making no effort to hide how much she enjoyed it. "Actually, with -"

Luke put a finger up. "No comparisons to Willy Wonka, Lorelai. I don't want everyone to know that my wife's biggest fantasy is to sleep with Willy Wonka."

Her smile grew even wider, and Luke realized what had made her so happy, besides the champagne. _My wife_. "No, Luke, that's not it," she chided.

"Then what?" he asked.

"Do you really want to know?" she purred.

He twisted a curl that had come loose, gently. "How about I find out later?"

Lorelai laughed. "You will. Definitely." She settled back in the chair, watching everyone around them.

* * *

**Luke's (Past)**

Rory blazed into the diner, letting the door slam behind her. Everyone stared. Sweet little Rory Gilmore, looking like she was going to murder someone? It couldn't be. But it was. She looked desperate, as she marched up to the counter. "Luke?" she barked. "Get out here."

"Rory?" he said slowly, coming out of the kitchen, to look at her. "What are you doing here?"

"Because this is your diner, I knew I would find you her, and I need you to come with me." Rory crossed her arms. "Now!"

"Fine, fine." Luke held up his hands and followed her outside. Rory whirled to face him, her eyes angry.

"I need you to come to Mom's with me," she announced.

"_What_?" Luke sputtered.

"She's not answering her phone, she wouldn't eat marshmallows the other night…" Rory's voice wavered. "She's depressed, Luke, and I have no other options than dragging her to doctor, and getting her antidepressants. I don't think a daughter should be taking her mother to get antidepressants!"

"I don't think it's that drastic," Luke tried to reason, getting nowhere.

"Of course you don't." She paced. "When was the last time you spoke to her, Luke?"

"A week ago?" He mused. "Yeah, about that. She seemed fine."

"It's Lorelai Gilmore. What does she do best? Act strong, even when she's falling apart." Rory closed her eyes, tightly. "I need you to come and, I don't know, talk to her, something."

"What good would that do, Rory? Huh?" Luke snapped.

Rory stood her ground. "She's still in love with you, Luke."

"But…" he let it go.

"Are you?" she asked, no longer panicking.

Luke couldn't look at Rory. "Yes."

"Okay." She wilted. "Just…just go see her. Please?"

"I will." He looked back up at her. "Are you…?"

"Only if she needs it," Rory said firmly, before turning on her heel and walking away.

He went back into the diner. _Now what?_

_

* * *

_

Reviews are appreciated.


	9. Old Fashioned Callers

**A/N: **Well, another delay, but I'd like to thank everyone who has read this/ favourited it/ put it on their alerts thus far.

Chapter 9: Old Fashioned Callers

**The Crap Shack (Past)**

Lorelai rolled over and felt her leg brush something…something that hadn't been there when she had fallen asleep, after staggering upstairs, tired and more than a little disoriented. "Uhhhh," she groaned, cracking open an eye. Something was beside her. Something about five-seven and blue eyed. "Rory?" she managed.

"Hi," her daughter said brightly. She was sitting cross-legged, wearing a red sweater, smiling at Lorelai. "It's about time you woke up."

"How long have you been there?" Lorelai asked, trying to blink the sleep from her eyes.

Rory shrugged. "Three hour. Maybe four."

"Don't you have somewhere to be, Rory?" Lorelai, this time managed to pull herself upright and shuffled to her closet. "Like school?"

"Are you trying to get rid of me?" Rory followed her. "Isn't that a little too _Failure to Launch_?"

"No." Lorelai pulled a shirt out of the closet, and turned to look at Rory. "You're in your senior year of Yale. Shouldn't you be studying or in class?"

Rory took the shirt away from Lorelai. "When I call four times and get no answer, class-slash-graduation-slash-studying worry is trumped by Mom-worry."

"You shouldn't be worrying about me." Lorelai took the shirt back. "I'm fine."

"Excuse me, but I don't believe you." Rory gave up fighting over the shirt and started ticking things off her hand. "You didn't go to the inn yesterday. You haven't talked to anyone about anything in days. You haven't returned any phone calls."

"Are you stalking me?" Lorelai demanded. "Because that shows a protective side of you that's a little creepy. Like "

"I can't stalk you if you're not going anywhere," Rory mumbled. "You're not fine."

"Rory, I am asking you, please, just stay out. I just got divorced. I'm allowed to be a little down. Okay?"

"Mom -"

"I'm thirty-eight years old! I own my own business! I don't need permission to stay at home for a day when I'm tired."

Rory held up her hands. "Fine. Fine. You're an adult. I think I knew that. You don't need your daughter's permission to do anything." She scowled. "But guess what, Mom? I'm an adult, too. So you won't be angry when I say I went to talk to Luke, now will you?"

"Rory." Lorelai's voice no longer sounded groggy, it sounded dead calm. You may be an adult, but I am your mother and I am asking you to stay out."

"Well, excuse me for caring." Rory untangled herself from the sheets on the bed and marched out of the room.

"Rory!" Lorelai called. The guilt had hit her before Rory had even left. "Rory?"

* * *

**Wedding Day (Present)**

"Congratulations, Lorelai," Paris said, sipping a champagne flute. "Really."

"Paris?" Lorelai squinted at her across the table. "Wow, you came."

"Of course I came," the younger woman replied. "I wouldn't miss my best friend's mother's wedding."

"When you put it like that…"Lorelai put on a smile. "It's just that Rory wasn't sure you could make it. But I'm glad you did," she tacked on. What was it about Paris that made her ramble like crazy? Maybe because Paris still hadn't lost that edge that made kids cross to the other side of the street when they saw her coming. "I'm gonna…go talk to…"

"Oh, yeah, don't mind me," Paris replied. "You have guests."

Lorelai whirled away quickly, and snatched Rory's arm on the way by. "Come with me."

She steered Rory away from the crowd of people still celebrating the marriage of Luke and Lorelai. "Paris is here?" she demanded.

"Well, you knew I invited her," Rory pointed out.

"I didn't know she would _come_!" Lorelai exclaimed. "I thought she was busy becoming world's scariest doctor."

"Surgeon," Rory corrected. "And I think it's world's greatest."

"Greatest, scariest," Lorelai shrugged. 'Sweetie, it's one and the same when it comes to Paris."

"I know." Rory winced. "I spent most of the last seven years of my life either going to school with her or living with her. I _know_ Paris. Nothing should surprise me anymore. But when she called and said she was coming, I almost died."

Lorelai patted Rory's shoulder. "Well, prepare yourself for when she says she's pregnant. After all, Paris and Doyle are going to want to procreate sometime."

"Mom!"

Lorelai couldn't help but laugh.

* * *

**The Crap Shack (Past)**

Luke stood at familiar door. He stared at it, knowing full well that Lorelai's super-senses would detect him standing meaninglessly on her porch. What fun that would be if she found him before he rang the doorbell or something. But he did, and didn't want to ring the doorbell. What was he going to say? _"Uh, your daughter came to me, blabbing about your mental state and told me to come visit?" _He knew Lorelai, and he knew that any statement related to something like that would anger her to no end. He still couldn't figure out why she didn't want anyone showing outright concern for her well-being. But that was Lorelai. She had pride. So did he.

And he had to swallow his first. Luke pressed the doorbell once. One very long moment of agony passed as he listened to Lorelai take her time while going down the stairs. She opened the door. "Hey," she said, after waiting a beat. "Hey."

"Hey," Luke murmured. "I, uh, was talking to…"

"Rory?" Lorelai supplied. "Of course." She held the door open for him. Luke stepped in, figuring she had a reason for inviting him inside.

God, this was fun. The house, that they had decorated together, was still mostly intact. He inhaled sharply; thinking of what he had thought was going to happen. Luke Danes was becoming nostalgic in his old age. He sat, with some unease, on the edge of the couch. "So, uh, how are you?"

"Wow, Rory really did send you, huh?" she said, with what he thought was annoyance. At Rory or Luke? He had no idea. She sighed heavily. "I'm alright."

He nodded. "Good." They were silent. "I haven't seen you around much."

"Well, I…" She let it go.

"Yeah." He stared at his lap. "You sure you're okay?"

Luke was rewarded with a smile. "I think so. I might be."

"Good." For some reason, he felt like something was indeed alright, now.


	10. Rainy Day People

**A/N: **Delay…I give up…this'll come out when I'm inspired, which is apparently right now…

And the chapter title is a reference to the song "Rainy Day People," by Gordon Lightfoot.

Chapter 10: Rainy Day People

**Rory's Apartment (Past)**

"What are you doing?" Paris demanded.

"I'm getting milk…"Rory turned to look at Paris. "Okay, no, I'm not."

"We have no milk left." Paris was glaring. "Except for that. I need that milk. Why are you drinking milk, anyway? I thought you were against milk."

"Why do you need the milk?" Rory argued. "You're supposed to be lactose intolerant."

"I need it for my cereal tomorrow." Paris snatched the jug away from Rory, to enforce her point.

"Okay, then." Rory stalked off to her room. "We could just go buy more milk, you know."

She got no answer. How very Paris.

Her answering machine seemed to be trying to get her attention. "_Hey, Rory. It's me…just trying to see if you were around. I wanted to talk, but I guess you can't…okay, I'm going to Luke's. Love you. Bye._"

Rory sighed. She was more than a little annoyed at her mother…but Lorelai said she was going to Luke's. That had to mean something, right?

* * *

**Stars Hollow (Past)**

Lorelai stared at the diner. It still looked the same. Of course it looked the same. She had walked by there yesterday. And the day before, and the day before that. Each one of these days, she looked, felt ill and kept going.

"Hey, sugar."

"Babette, hi." Lorelai felt the lurch of her heart.

"You goin' in?" Babette squinted at Luke's. "I bet you miss the coffee."

"I might go in," Lorelai murmured.

"It's about damn time, sugar," the older woman announced.

"Yeah, I guess."

"Well, you see you later, Lorelai."

"See you later," Lorelai echoed. She felt herself wilt a little. Everyone was expecting her to do something.

She rummaged through her purse, looking for the box. A tiny jewellery box, the one that held the earrings and necklace that Luke had given her. They were exquisite pieces of jewellery, but she hadn't worn them in months. Not since Christopher had asked where she'd gotten them, and she had fumbled for an answer. Well, there was no Christopher anymore. And since when had she let anyone stop her from wearing what she wanted to wear?

Lorelai picked up an earring to look at it closely. Liz knew how to make really lovely jewellery. "Yeah, I thought so," she whispered. "Maybe I'll go in tomorrow."

"No, you can't do that!" Rory exclaimed. Lorelai held the phone away from her ear.

"What can't I do?"

"Chicken out yet again over going into Luke's. You said you were going. You have to go. He came over to the house. You have to reciprocate."

"Well, I couldn't go in. The entire town will be watching. I'll be attacked with a hundred questions. It'll be Watergate all over again."

"How will it be Watergate?"

"Just go with it, until I find a better comparison." Lorelai dipped a spoon in the frosting Sookie had left on the kitchen counter. "I just couldn't force myself to go in."

Rory sighed irritably. "Today's Friday, right?"

"It is?" Lorelai glanced at the calendar. "It is. Not dinner with the parents. I can't handle the mind games tonight."

"Call and say you're sick."

"Rory, that would be lying." Lorelai was now in a mocking mood. "And that would be very, very bad…except, if it gets me out of Friday night dinner, then it's very, very good. Is that what they teach you at that big, fancy school of yours?"

"It's in the Gilmore handbook," Rory replied. "Page eighty-seven."

"Lie to the parents to get out of dinner is in the Gilmore handbook?" Lorelai questioned. "I'm reading that more thoroughly."

"After dinner," Rory continued, "I'll come home, and we'll go to Luke's. It'll be late. No one will be there."

"Rory, no."

"Mom!"

"Rory!" Lorelai groaned. "I'm not ready to go in to Luke's."

"When will you be ready?"

"Possibly never."

"Then how will you ever tell him that you -"

"I'm not."

"So, you're going to pine all alone, waiting for something that may not happen?" Rory asked. "This is Luke. He doesn't reveal his feelings. Why won't you do anything?'

Lorelai chewed a fingernail, a habit she thought she had long broken. "I don't know…I just can't. Not yet. Please try to get it, Rory."

"I'm trying." Pause. "Mom?"

"Yes, sweets?"

"I'm still coming home."

* * *

Marshmallows, Red Vines, pizza, Smarties and tater tots – an excellent meal, if Lorelai did say do herself. It had been artfully arranged on the coffee table, and she took satisfaction in the aesthetic of the food. Bright colours, which signified all kinds of chemicals. She clapped her hands together. 

"Mom?"

"Oh my God, Rory, you scared the crap out of me," Lorelai breathed. "Wear a bell. Are you sure you opened the door?"

"I haven't developed Superman powers yet," Rory assured her.

"No need for kryptonite yet, huh?"

"Nope." Rory flopped on the couch. "Dinner alone with Grandma is tiring."

"Yeah?" Lorelai popped a marshmallow into her mouth. "Where was Dad?"

"He had to go to Seattle, I think." Rory frowned. "She spent way more time complaining about you not being at dinner."

"I called her." Lorelai rolled her eyes.

"By the way, she didn't believe you."

"What? I thought it worked."

"Maybe you need lessons in lying from OJ."

"I'll give him a call." Lorelai jumped up. "Want some coffee?"

"How about we get some real coffee, instead of the imitation stuff we try to make?" Rory called. "From Luke's?"

"If I need lessons in lying, you need lessons in subtlety," Lorelai retorted. "Coffee's on, food is out – now all we need is a movie."

"What do you want to watch?" Rory stole some liquorice.

"I don't know." She sat on the floor in front of the shelf. "I was thinking _Casablanca_, but then I thought, why would you want to watch a love story when you could be watching…_Ocean's Eleven _and_ Twelve_!"

"Mom. You have to be kidding."

Lorelai grinned brightly. "No. Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Matt Damon…what could be hotter than that?"

"Fine." Rory handed over the remote.

"You know they're making a third one, right?"

"Mm-hmm."

"We should go see it when it comes out."

"Mom!"

* * *

Ugh. The sun was so bright, even through the curtains. And the rain was so loud. Did she have a tin roof? Not the last time she checked. Maybe there'd be a rainbow. That would be nice. 

Lorelai squinted at the clock. Seven-forty-three. Good Lord. She gave the clock a stony glare. "Be that way," she mumbled, peeling herself out of bed.

The box with the necklace and the earrings was now lying on her night table. "Tomorrow, huh?"

She flopped back down. "Great."

* * *

_I promise, more JavaJunkie in the next chapter._


	11. Diamondcut Glass

**A/N: **Thanks to my Internet provider royally screwing up last night, and my computer being needed to be rebooted about seven thousand times, I ended up losing what I had originally written for this chapter. Thanks, Rogers. Love ya.

Note about the story: Wedding scenes are now written in italics. I'm tired of putting in titles.

And to Java and Lorelai90 – EL, too, if she's reading this: NINJAS! They're infesting the linen closet, as you know…

Chapter 11: Diamond-cut Glass

_She twisted the ring around her finger, getting the feel of the important metal there. It still felt weird, even after a few months of wearing the ring. Now, plural. She smiled at them. They were so lovely, and so simple, but they symbolized so much more than simple bands of metal for decoration. She traced the bands, feeling the smoothness. She felt a flutter of panic. What if she wasn't ready? What if she wasn't ready to settle down and live with Luke till death do them part?_

Little late for second thoughts now, don't you think? _Lorelai frowned. She wasn't having second thoughts. She saw Luke, engaged in a conversation with Liz and TJ – she suppressed a giggle at the rant Luke might have when he came back. TJ made him homicidal. Poor guy; he still was oblivious to the vein pulsing in Luke's temple._

_Rory sat down beside her again, her cheeks flushed. "Where have you been? Kicking back shots at the bar?" Lorelai teased._

_She rolled her eyes, patronizingly. "Yes, Mom. Always. I've decided to get so wasted tonight that Luke will have to look after both of us."_

_Lorelai put a hand to her mouth, careful not to smudge her lipstick. "Rory Gilmore! Using tacky terms to describe the act of getting inebriated! What would your grandmother say?"_

"_Nothing. She would ask you why you taught me such 'common' language," Rory answered, taking Lorelai's fork to take a bite of cake. "How many pieces?"_

"_Two? Three?" Lorelai mused. "Or maybe five."_

"_Cut back on the calories," Rory advised._

"_What for?" Lorelai asked. She smirked at her daughter._

"_Mom!"_

"_Rory."_

"_You do realize that we have boundaries, right?" Rory held up a hand. "But you've never been good with those, I know."_

_Lorelai snatched her fork back. "Thanks for that clarification."_

"_No problem." Rory turned in her chair to face her mother. "Mom?"_

"_Uh-oh. You've got your serious Rory face on." Lorelai set down the fork. "Go ahead."_

"_Are you happy?"_

"_Yeah, I'm happy." Lorelai paused. "Do you want me to continue this serious mother-daughter moment?"_

_Rory gave her The Look._

"_Fine." she put a hand on Rory's shoulder. "Are you happy?"_

"_I think I am." Rory chewed her lip. "I think I am."_

"_Good." Lorelai turned back to the ever-important cake, and snuck another look at her ring._

_It felt like a cheesy romantic comedy – is there any other kind? – but, damn, she was _happy.

* * *

"Rory!" Lorelai yelled, trying to pull on a sock. "Rory? Are you awake?"

Her daughter groaned. "I wasn't. At least, I wasn't before the crazy banshee Gilmore started yelling."

"Well, I need you." Lorelai hopped around the kitchen, still struggling with the sock. She fell over.

"For what?" Rory sat at the table. "To help you put on your Spongebob Squarepants socks? How very five year old of you."

"You are majorly crabby in the morning." Lorelai successfully stuffed her sock on her foot. "Who taught you to be that way, anyway?"

"Coffee. Need. Now!" Rory put her head on the table.

"I like the Tarzan thing, honey. It works for a Yale student like you. Now, get dressed and look pretty, so you can come with Mommy to get the pretty coffee."

"Nuh uh." Rory shook her head. "Oh, no. I'm going back to school. You have to do this by yourself."

"Rory!"

"Tough love." Rory stretched, suddenly a lot more awake than she had been previously. "I have work to do. You need coffee. Run along, now."

The glint in her daughter's eye gave Lorelai the feeling that Rory was getting way too much enjoyment out of the situation. "Rory, please? Do you want me to grovel?"

"No grovelling necessary. I'm not coming with you. I think I'll take a shower."

"I gave birth to you!" Lorelai pleaded. "I didn't go through that pain for nothing!"

"You need coffee. Now." Rory got up from the table.

"You'll feel bad about giving up this rare moment to spend time with your mother!" Lorelai called after her. "I'm not getting any younger! I could die any second!"

"Have fun." Rory shut her bedroom door.

"You'll miss me when I'm gone!" Lorelai warbled.

There was nothing but silence from Rory's room.

"Rory? Rory?" Again, silence.

Defeated, Lorelai left, letting the door gently click shut behind her.

From Rory's bedroom, a few strains of muffled laughter floated out on the breeze that Lorelai had left in her wake.

* * *

With a growing feeling of distaste, Lorelai stood outside the diner. Again. Same spot as yesterday. So what if Luke was in there? So what if her conscience was laughing now, and going, "Duh! It's his diner! Go, Lorelai." She swung her purse over her shoulder and marched in.

She could've sworn everyone in the diner stopped what they were doing and stared at her. Contrary to popular belief, she hated being stared at. She found herself grousing about the townspeople and their irritating habits.

Her regular seat at the counter was empty. Thank goodness. She took careful, deliberate steps toward the stool, feeling thousands of eyes on her. This was ridiculous. "Hey,' she squeezed out, fighting back the urge to run.

"Hey." Luke nodded at her, looking for a mug. He glared at the rest of the patrons. "Don't you have some place to be?"

"Thank you," Lorelai murmured.

He shrugged. "They were staring, this is weird…we don't need them fuelling the fire."

"No, we don't." She looked at the counter. "You got new salt shakers!"

"Yeah." He pushed the mug toward her. "Is there something wrong with that?"

"No." She picked one up. "They're just different…fancy."

"It was time for new ones." He watched her. _Amused._

"But you've had the same ones since forever!" She put it back down on the table. "It feels weird."

"Are you telling me that you had an emotional attachment to my salt shakers?" Luke demanded.

"No. I'm just saying that it's weird. You don't do so great with change and now you have new salt shakers."

"That makes no sense."

"Yes, it does."

"Anything else you wanna order?" he asked.

"No. Can I get this to go? I have to go to the inn."

"Sure." He reached for the mug. "Why are you so bothered about the salt shakers?"

"I am not _bothered_."

"You're acting like it."

"Well, I'm not." She waited for the cup to be filled.

"Here." He passed the cup to her. "See ya."

Lorelai took the cup from him. She got to the door, before turning back. "Luke?"

He looked up. "Yeah?"

"I like the salt shakers."

He smiled back at her. "Good."


	12. Thin Ice or Brick Walls

**A/N:** After my muse has been taunting me for the last little while, I have to inform everyone that I'm going on vacation soon. However, I think, to be unnaturally nice, I'll post two chapters before I go next week. I have been, um, intermittent in my updating. I keep saying it's gonna get better, but at this point, I really doubt it, so just hang in there, okay? That'd be great. Thanks.

And I still don't own anything, in case you're wondering.

Chapter 12: Thin Ice or Brick Walls

Lorelai tapped her fingers on the table. "I'm bored," she announced.

"Great." Rory sounded annoyed, even though her voice was distorted by the speaker phone. "I have to study. Hanging up now."

"Rory." Lorelai clattered some dishes around. She was trying to sound productive. "I need some entertainment."

"Go to the diner."

"No way." Lorelai shook her head; despite the fact Rory couldn't see her. "Nuh-uh. I can't go in there twice a day."

"Why not? I thought you said you guys were okay."

"Oh, Rory." Lorelai laughed. "Just because we're talking and I can go buy a cup of coffee, maybe a burger, without Luke going all Bellatrix Lestrange on me, does not mean that we're okay. We are so far from okay, babe."

"Tell him."

"Tell him what?"

"You know."

"No, I don't. What are you talking about?"

Rory sighed. "You _know_. I know you just don't want to talk about it, now, right?"

"No, I don't."

"I knew it." Rory sighed again, heavier than the first time. "But when are you going to do something about Luke?"

"I don't know. When I'm ready." Lorelai shot a glare in direction of the phone, which was lying on the table. She struggled with some more dishes.

"Mom, that's not a time frame."

"I know. I just…I don't know. He probably still hates me. I hate me. What if I say something, and then I'm the one left, feeling like an idiot. Maybe I'm the girl in the song. 'Only a go-go girl in love with someone who didn't care.'"

"No, you're not," Rory replied. "You're sad and confused and you miss him but you won't say anything. Maybe he does care. He's Luke."

"Rory…" Lorelai turned off the speaker phone, and picked up the handset. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about nothing. Go to the diner. I'll call you later."

"Rory!"

"Go. Bye. I love you."

"Love you, too, kid, but I swear…"

"Swear not, Mother, darling." Rory laughed lightly. "Bye."

"Bye." Lorelai clicked the 'end' button. She leaned her chin on her hand, and stared at the pile of dishes. "I swear you're multiplying," she muttered to them. "Whatever. I need food." She opened the fridge, allowed her eyes to gloss over the food in there. She shut the door, and reached for her jacket.

* * *

"You know you're crazy when you start talking to yourself all the time," Lorelai announced.

"What?" Luke demanded.

"I said you know you're crazy when you talk to yourself," she replied. "Do you talk to yourself?"

"No." Luke sent her the look that he reserved for, 'Oh, look, Lorelai's gone nuts again.' "Why would I talk to myself?"

"I don't know." She waved her hand. "Right, only crazy people do. You're not crazy. But I am, because I keep talking to myself!"

"Are you okay?" he asked. "You're acting kind of strange. Like stranger than usual."

She winced. _You're blabbing again. Good Lord. What's _wrong_ with me?_ She heard Rory's voice, telling her to tell him, but somehow, it didn't seem very appropriate, in a diner. Kirk was counting the onion on his burger; Babette and Miss Patty were eying her already; Liz was feeding Doula. It didn't seem right. Not now. Later.

_Later. You just keep telling yourself that, hon. _Lorelai looked around wildly. Since when had Sookie wormed herself into Lorelai's brain? She was definitely going crazy.

"Are you okay?" Luke repeated.

"Yeah, fine," she lied. "I just really need some coffee."

"Fair enough." Luke rummaged around for a mug.

Lorelai sat up straight, trying to keep her mind out of the loony bin. "So…"

"Yeah?" he grunted.

She wanted to hit her head on the counter. This was going well. She made no sense, Luke was being unresponsive, she hadn't had coffee since her one cup that morning, and he probably hated her. "Nothing. Nothing."

He raised his eyebrows. "Nothing?"

"Nothing." She sipped her coffee. "What? Why don't you believe me?"

"You never have nothing to say," he muttered. "You never shut up. Which is probably why you took up talking to yourself."

"Thanks, Luke." She gave him her sarcastic smile.

"No problem. I live to please." He glanced back at her, and Lorelai smiled back. This time, shyly.

"Good to know." She inhaled the rest of her coffee. "Refills, please?"

"You're going to die an early death," he replied.

"Of what? My body has a tolerance to caffeine."

"Because you drink so much of that crap." Luke set the cup in front of her.

"Luke." Lorelai adopted a horrified tone. "You cannot speak about the coffee in that way. You'll hurt its feelings."

"Coffee is inanimate," Luke pointed out.

"It lives."

"You kill it by drinking it."

"I give up. You'll never see the light." Lorelai put down her drained cup. She dug for some bills, cursing as she pulled out the wrong ones. "Here. See you later."

She looked back at Luke, before leaving the diner. He gave her a small smile. She had to say something. Lorelai opened her mouth, shut it, and spun on her heel.

The bell on the door rang louder than normal, with the ensuing slam.

* * *

_Hey," Luke said, catching Lorelai's arm. "Have a minute?" _

"_Yeah, sure." Lorelai looked at him. "I have all the time in the world."_

"_Good to know. Come on." He pulled her to a quiet spot, and sat her on a bench. _

"_Okay, what is this? Some sort of mafia thing?" she demanded._

"_No, I -" Luke pulled a square of paper from the pocket of his tux. "Here."_

"_Luu-ke." She took the paper from him. "What is this?"_

"_I don't think I ever told you how much I appreciated this," he replied._

"_Oh. This." She unfolded it. "Really?"_

"_Really." He kissed her hair. "It fixed a lot."_

"

* * *

"Dear Luke,

"This is stupid. I know that and I'm trying anyway. I am an idiot. I wrote you another letter a while ago, one you needed. This, you don't need. Or even want. For all I know, you'll burn it. God, I hope not.

"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I can't tell you anything else. I know you hate me, and it's warranted. I get it, too.

"But I still want your forgiveness. Hell, I want you to understand, which isn't even what I should get from you. Got a dartboard for me? That might be it.

"Forgiving and understanding are two different things, I know. And I know it might be too much to ask. But I'm asking anyway, because I have to try.

"I'm so sorry. I miss you.

"Lorelai."

* * *

_She shut her eyes, breathing in time with Luke. She remembered sealing the envelope and stealing stamps from the inn. She remembered walking to the mailbox with heavy steps._

_She remembered almost crying._

"_Luke," she murmured. "I love you."_

"_I love you, too." _


	13. Yesterday Don't Matter if it's Gone

_Just to reiterate, all the future/ wedding scenes are in italics. This is my last update for a little while, because I'm going on vacation! Which makes me very happy. When I get back, there'll be lots of pretty updates._

_And as always, the reviews are appreciated, as well as the favourite-ing/ alert-ing._

Chapter 12: Yesterday Don't Matter if it's Gone

Luke held the opened envelope. Its contents hadn't surprised him; it was a matter of time. She needed that push. _He _needed that push. He silently thanked Rory for meddling with their lives.

Their lives. Yes, there was a their now. At least, he wanted there to be a their. Luke rubbed his finger across the signature, imagining Lorelai writing it. He could see her chewing the cap of her pen, trying to figure out what to write. She had her moments, when she couldn't think of anything.

He grinned to himself. That had to mean something. He could see her at the table, writing, puzzling, worrying over the letter.

Luke loved the letter. He loved that she sat down, trying to say something, but not quite getting it. He loved that he understood anyway. He loved that – hell, he loved Lorelai. Yeah, that was the undisputable truth. He was in love with her.

But she had chosen someone else.

He closed his eyes, pushing the anger back down. That was over. She reached out to him; she wanted a relationship of some sort…right? Luke groaned. He may know Lorelai, but he hadn't quite adapted the talent of reading her mind. He didn't think anyone could read her mind. It was too strange.

He missed her, though, no matter how much she had driven him crazy. When she had come back to the diner, he was happy. Happy to see her. He wondered how she'd survived without coming to the diner. But he was so happy.

Luke stuffed the note in his shirt pocket and went downstairs. He stopped, seeing Lorelai at the counter. She had to be there, drinking her coffee and talking to Lane after he had just read her note seven times.

Life was either funny or cruel that way.

He made himself walk toward her. "Hey," he replied, surprised at how easy it was to sound normal.

"Hey," she replied. She looked tired. Luke rocked on his heels.

"How are you?" he asked.

Lorelai raised her eyebrows. "Since I saw you yesterday? Fine."

"Good."

She peered at him. "Luke? Are you okay?"

"Yeah." He shrugged. "Of course. Why?"

"I don't know. You're just acting weird." She held out her cup. "More coffee?"

"Yeah, sure." He reached for the pot, but she held up a hand.

"Now you're really acting weird." She tilted her head. "What's up with you?"

Luke shook his head. "You're not going to give up, are you?"

"Of course _not_." Lorelai folded her hands. "You can tell me, you know. I promise not to laugh. Unless…" She let it trail. He didn't say anything. She felt panicked. "Unless you think there's too much…"

"Too much what?" he asked.

"Too much – never mind." She drained the cup. "I've got to get going. Michel will have a cow if I'm late again. Even if I own the inn." She rolled her eyes, for effect, but Luke caught the regret in her eyes. "I'll see you later."

"Lorelai?"

"Yeah?"

"Can we talk?" he muttered. "Later?"

"Sure." Lorelai put her hand on the doorknob. "When?"

"I'll call you," he promised. She nodded, and shut the door behind her.

He looked at his hand. Luke was still holding the coffeepot.

* * *

"_Aww, look at you two," Sookie was standing in front of Luke and Lorelai. They were just sitting at the table, talking quietly and eating even more cake. "This is just so beautiful."_

"_Sookie?" Lorelai asked through her cake. "What are you talking about?"_

"_It's just so great," Sookie sniffed. "I mean, you two…" She brushed away the first tear. "You took so long and it seemed like you two would never wake up and then you were engaged and then you broke up again and then you got it together…it just gives hope to the rest of us, you know?"_

_Lorelai glanced at Luke. He looked like he wanted to laugh. She narrowed her eyebrows. He turned away. "Sookie, honey," she began gently, "you're already married. To Jackson, remember?"_

"_I know, but you guys have a really nice story." Sookie gulped. "It's amazing."_

_They watched her be guided away by Jackson, with him giving them an apologetic glance._

"_Well," Lorelai said, sticking her fork in the cake – her zillionth that night, "we always needed at least one meltdown here, didn't we?"_

"_Didn't we ever." Luke watched her. "Seriously, Lorelai, how much more are you going to eat?"_

"_You should be used to this by now." She giggled. "Besides, I starved myself before this."_

* * *

Lorelai met Luke in the empty diner that evening. They sat at a table, partially hidden in the back. Lorelai fiddled with her watch strap. She wondered why she was wearing a watch. Uncharacteristic, to say the least. But she had been doing a lot of things that were uncharacteristic lately.

Luke sat uncomfortably across from her. He coughed, trying to get the ball rolling. "How's Rory?" he asked finally.

"She's good. Finishing up school, getting more demanding." Lorelai smiled at the mere mention of her daughter. "How's April?"

"She's good, too." Luke sighed. "We can't just make small talk all night."

"Well, no." He saw a flicker of fear in her eyes. "But you started it."

"You weren't saying anything."

"I thought it would be polite to let you start," she argued.

"You've never not said anything," he pointed out. "And I doubt that you care about the politeness of the matter."

"I do too!" Lorelai protested. "I wouldn't be anything less than polite to you. I can't believe you're suggesting I never give you any chance to talk."

Luke raised his eyebrows. "Funny, Lorelai."

She shrugged. "Not some of my best material, though."

"Huh." He took a deep breath. "Do you want to try again?"

Lorelai blinked at him. "What?" she asked.

"I said, do you want to try again?"


	14. Dirty Laundry

Ah, I'm back at it again. Vacation was very fun and I kind of wish that it went on, but I'm also glad to be back. And I bet some people are very happy about that, after the cliffhanger I left with.

Anyway, thanks for waiting patiently.

Chapter 14: Dirty Laundry

_Do you want to try again?_ Lorelai swallowed, her throat dry. She needed one of Rory's pro-con lists now. Maybe she could make a mental one very quickly. She hoped she looked thoughtful. Luke was patient, right?

When it counted.

Okay, pro: it's Luke. Con: bad track record. Pro: she is madly in love with him. Con: she's madly in love with him. Lorelai shook her head. She really needed some coffee for this. Luke stared. "Just thinking," she murmured, more to convince her then him. He nodded.

Lorelai laced and unlaced her fingers. She wanted to try again. She wanted Luke. "Yes," she said. "I want to try again."

It was Luke's turn to swallow. "Good," he managed. "Good."

"I hope so," she replied.

"Yeah."

"I'll see you tomorrow?" Lorelai asked.

"I'll call. And come for coffee."

"You think I would _not _come for coffee?"

"And miss the chance to drive me crazy and possibly die? No."

"Aww, you know me too well," she replied, laughing.

"Yes." Luke was quiet. Lorelai was a complex creature. He had more or less figured out her habits and moods and routines, but the changes that had cropped up recently…he wondered if they were his fault. He took her hand, and rubbed her knuckles, tenderly. Her skin felt rough.

"Are you thinking about blame?" she asked.

He looked back up. Lorelai was watching him, an expression caught between understanding and self-hatred. "How did you…?" he let it go.

"Blame me," she replied.

He put his face in his free hand. "Lorelai, stop. I'm not blaming you anymore, okay?"

"Okay." She propped up her chin. "Ever get the feeling you make _me_ crazy?"

"_I _make _you_ crazy?" he demanded, allowing himself to be drawn into a completely different conversation.

"Uh-huh." Lorelai nodded. "You do. In fact, you were killing me a second ago."

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Yeah. But…" Lorelai disentangled herself from him and the table. "I'll let you figure that one out yourself."

"Aw, jeez," Luke groaned, figuring out what she was saying.

"See you tomorrow, Luke," she called, on her way to the door.

He watched her go, already feeling lighter.

* * *

The Stars Hollow Gazette arrived in Lorelai's mailbox the next morning with a loud _bang_. She moaned, diving under the pillow. "Go _away_," she yelled. "No one cares about news. I hate news. It's all completely horrible and depressing." She climbed out of bed. "I have rarely ever seen anything in a newspaper that I liked, except Rory's stuff." Lorelai padded down the stairs. "In fact, the only thing I liked was Rory's stuff. Why do I even have this delivered?" She opened the door and snatched the paper. She shut the door behind her and headed for the living room. A few minutes passed, of Lorelai leafing through the paper. "Oh my God," she breathed, catching an article. "Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God." She dialled the phone. "I can't believe this. Hello?"

"Mom?" Rory sounded dead to the world.

"Yes, it's me. Please wake up, Rory, we need to talk."

"About what?"

"Luke and I are back together," Lorelai blurted, forgetting to hold it in and savour the words.

"You are?" Rory sounded on the verge of tears now.

"Yes."

"That is amazing," Rory murmured. "I can't…you're with Luke again."

"Yes. You're the first person I've told."

"I feel honoured."

"You should. Which leads me to my next piece of news."

"What? Tell!" Rory demanded.

"There is, believe it or not, an article in the stars Hollow Gazette – just a little bit on the second page, but still, an article – about Luke and I potentially reuniting."

"No. Now you're kidding." Rory laughed. "Really?"

"Really." Lorelai threw her paper down. "It details our entire relationship. It even mentions you. We've gone from being debated on at town meetings to dividing the town by ribbons to an article in the newspaper."

"Soon you'll be stalked by the paparazzi," Rory teased.

"Rory! Not funny!"

"Sorry. What are you going to do?"

"I don't know. Find the person who wrote this and kill them?"

"Well, how do you think they found out? You didn't tell anyone, Luke didn't tell anyone…"

"Unless they have cameras trained on Luke's, I don't know! This is way too Bennifer for me."

Rory giggled. "It is kind of funny."

"Rory!"

* * *

The bell rang, with that particular ring that only Lorelai could achieve. Luke glanced up from his order pad. "Hey."

"Did you see this?" she demanded.

"No. What are you talking about?"

Lorelai jabbed the newspaper with a vicious point. "Look!"

Luke picked up the page, his eyes flitting over the article. "What the hell?"

"Exactly." Lorelai sat on a stool. "Coffee?"

"Sure." Luke grabbed a cup and poured. "This is insane. This has gone too far."

"How do they know?" Lorelai hissed.

"How should I kn -" Luke walked out from behind the counter. "Kirk, good morning."

Kirk stopped trying to spear his bacon. "Luke, you know, in all the years I've ever known you, you've never said good-morning to me."

"Shut up, Kirk." Luke cleared his throat. "Now, do you, by any chance, know where this came from?"

Kirk swallowed, looking down at the paper. "I can't say." He threw down some bills. "I have to go." He ran from the diner, looking back to make sure Luke wasn't following.

"Unbelievable." Luke stormed back. "It was him."

Lorelai was laughing. "Did you see his face?"

"Yes, believe it or not, I was there," Luke muttered. "I'm going to kill him."

"Aw, come on. You can't kill the pathetic."

"I guess not."

"Good." Lorelai sat up. "Can I have some – hey, you changed the salt shakers back. Why? I said I liked the new ones."

"Just order, please."

"No, seriously. Why?"

"What will it take for you to shut up?" he asked.

"More coffee and pancakes." She watched him go to the coffeemaker. "Will you tell me?"

"Are you free tomorrow night?"

"Yeah. Will you tell me then?"

"You'll see. Eight?"

"Sure." Lorelai leaned on the counter, still watching him.

"Will you stop looking at me like that?" he asked, out of the side of his mouth.

"You'll see." She flashed a grin at him.

She was in the diner, eating breakfast as usual. She had a date with Luke tomorrow.

For now, things were looking up.


	15. The Perfect Dress

Hey! Over one hundred reviews! Thank you _very_ much, guys. I love reading all the reviews, and hearing your reactions. It's great.

Sooo, on that note: two things: one is, I finally have the rest of the story planned out, more or less. The second thing is, I'm going on vacation (again, I know!) next week and I'll think I might have one more update after this before the silence from me yet again. Which is why this chapter is a little longer than usual.

Chapter 15: The Perfect Dress

Rory drew her legs up on the chair, leaning her head on her knee. "Pick something. Please?"

Lorelai held up a shirt. "What do you think?"

"We've been shopping forever."

"What do you think?" Lorelai replied.

"I think it looks great."

"Rory, come on!"

"No. Just pick something. It's Luke. He thinks you look great in a sweatshirt and paint-covered jeans." Rory rummaged around in her bag for a book. "I like the green."

"Are you sure?" Lorelai sifted through the stack of clothing and pulled out a green dress. "I don't know. Does it make me look -"

"Fat, sallow, old, whatever," Rory replied. "No. You look great. Now go really try it on so I can see."

"You're not even looking."

"Yes, I am."

"You're reading."

Rory sighed, and shut the book. She opened her eyes dramatically. "I'm looking. Go change."

"Fine." Lorelai flounced into the change room, obviously pouting.

With the click of the door meaning that Lorelai was safely hidden away, Rory started to go through the clothes that Lorelai had told Rory to guard from any other woman of her size and height. She picked through the blouses. "I like the purple one," she called.

"Then you buy it, I don't look good in it." Lorelai's voice sounded muffled, like she was stuck in a dress. Rory stifled a laugh.

"Hurry up, I have to study. Finals are coming," she replied.

"You can't hurry up the shopping process, Rory. It's important. Much too important to waste. You can't just walk in a store, buy something and go home. If you're going to shop, it becomes a several hour affair, okay? You have to find the right thing, not the thing that looks fine. The perfect item."

"Why do we always argue when we go shopping?" Rory asked, holding up a red sweater.

"No, we don't."

"Yes, we do. The silk dress of '96. The scarf trip of 2001. The shoe sale of 2004."

"Oh. Yeah. Well." Lorelai opened the door. "What do you really think, kiddo?"

"Turn around."

"My, are we ever bossy! Demanding, even. Your own mother!"

"My, are we ever chatty today!' Rory replied, scrutinizing her mother. "Okay. Mirror."

"How very Luke of you." Rory raised her eyebrows, unable to keep from grinning. "What?"

"Nothing. Just look at yourself in the mirror."

Lorelai held up her sheath of hair and twisted, trying to get an appropriate look at the dress. "Okay. I think this is it."

"Are you sure?" Rory asked. "Because I'm not coming back with you four times to return it and buy it again."

"That only happened once," Lorelai protested. "Once. Besides, there's not enough time to return it four times. I have a date tonight night."

"Yes. You do. You have a date with Luke." Rory hugged her book, giggling. Lorelai turned from the mirror, to smile at Rory, and was caught by how young she looked at the moment. She felt her smile become more thoughtful than happy, and thought about what Rory had said. _Finals, soon. After finals, graduation. After graduation, an empty canvas of darkness. Oh, Lord. My little girl is _graduating_ from Yale._ She swallowed, the happy feeling dissipating. She extended her arms to Rory.

"Hey. Come here."

"Um, _okay_." Rory returned the hug. "What's up?"

"Can't I just hug my daughter, no questions asked," Lorelai teased. "I don't know."

"Sure, I believe you." Rory stepped back, her eyes sparkling. "Now, change out of that dress so you can pay for it and we can leave!"

"Fine. _Mom_." Lorelai turned back to the change room.

"Hey, Mom?"

"Yeah?"

"It's _Luke_."

Lorelai chewed her lip. "It is, isn't it? It always is."

* * *

"Come in, Lorelai," Emily commanded. "I don't have all night to stand out here and freeze." 

"Relax, Mom," Lorelai replied. "It's almost spring."

"It's still not summer."

"Great. Drinks this way?" Lorelai kept going, but not before giving her mother a snarky smile.

"Hey," Rory called from her position on the couch. Richard was nowhere to be seen. Somehow, Lorelai wasn't surprised. "How was the date?" she murmured.

"Excellent," Lorelai replied, with a glance over at Emily, "And I mean excellent."

"Dirty!" Rory hissed.

"No, not really," Lorelai admitted. "And I'll tell you later, because the Wicked Witch of the West is coming over to rain on my parade."

"Wow, you totally screwed that one up. And -" Rory sat up, as Emily made a beeline for the drink cart.

"What do you girls want?"

"I'm good with a club soda, Grandma," Rory said.

"Gin martini," Lorelai said, quickly. "With a twist."

"Here you are," Emily said, handing over the drinks and settling on the couch across from them. "So, what have you two been up to?"

"Nothing," Lorelai said, at the same that Rory said, "Not too much."

"Honestly, that's what you two say every week." Emily gave Lorelai a pointed look. She read that one perfectly: _How could you teach your daughter not to offer any bit of news after a week, no matter how trivial it is?_ "You must have done something of note."

"I worked," Lorelai offered. Rory glanced at her. Lorelai shot a look at Emily. Rory seemed to nod.

"How fascinating, Lorelai," Emily said dryly.

"Some days it is," she argued.

"Rory? How about you?" Emily asked.

"And I've been dismissed once more," Lorelai muttered.

Emily gave her a silencing look.

"Um, well, it's been a pretty dull week," Rory replied. "I've been studying, mostly, for finals."

"I see," Emily murmured.

"What, Mom?" Lorelai sighed. "Do you want us to tell you that we went and robbed a bank, had tea with the Queen and met JK Rowling?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Emily snapped. "I was just…why are you smiling?"

"What?"

"You're smiling. You generally never smile at times like these. In fact, you usually sulk through dinner. Why are you smiling?"

Lorelai looked around. "Oh, what's that smell? Dinner? It smells great, Mom. In fact, it smells done." She had no idea if it was cooked or not. "Why don't we go eat? I'm starving, and I'm sure Rory is too." Rory nodded, trying to help her mother out. "And I heard it's rude to, uh, make your guests wait more than -" she checked the clock "- ten minutes for their dinner."

"Who said that?" Emily queried.

"Miss Manners?" Lorelai guessed. Emily glared.

* * *

"Luke," Lorelai called, walking into the diner. "Luke?" 

"He's upstairs," Kirk informed her.

She glared daggers at him. "I'm surprised you're still allowed into the diner."

"He's been upstairs since I got here," Kirk replied, pointing to the empty table in front of him.

"Kirk," Lorelai said, "If I were you, and thank God I'm not, I would leave. Luke could probably kill you. And he owns a diner. Get my point?"

Kirk nodded. "Could you tell him I wasn't here?"

"As long as you don't tell the paper I was here." She tilted her head, a dangerous smirk playing around her lips.

He gulped. And ran for the door. It slammed behind him, making Lorelai wince. But, at least the diner was silent now. Quiet and empty. "Luke?" she called. "Luke, please tell me you're here!"

He thundered down the stares. "Lorelai?"

"Yes, me, Lorelai Gilmore, co-owner of the Dragonfly Inn, society failure, high school dropout, business college graduate, etc." She plunked down on a stool. "Guess where I was tonight?"

"Friday night dinner, with your parents."

"Parent, tonight," she corrected. "And I don't know how she does it, it's crazy! It's like she can smell it on you when you walk in, or she has someone tailing me. That would be less creepy, actually."

"What are you talking about?"

"You might need some beer for this. Hell, you might want to get drunk first."

"Lorelai, would you just say something?"

"Emily Gilmore had cordially invited you to dinner next week," Lorelai spat out.

Luke sunk into a stool. "Wha-? How? How does she know? We've only been on one date! We haven't even fully resolved – did you tell her? Does she read the Stars Hollow Gazette?"

"She doesn't know," Lorelai admitted. "Not for sure. I was smiling, and she wanted to know why. After a dinner of arguing, she says, 'Extend an invitation to dinner to Luke,' and closes the door."

"I'm not going," he blurted.

"Of course you're not," Lorelai said. "I'm not that crazy."

"Good." Luke studied her. "What are you going to tell her?"

"Nothing. She can't presume. It's rude."

Try as he might, Luke had to let out a chuckle at Lorelai's over-the-top, blatantly horrible accent. "Coffee?"

"Please." Lorelai shrugged off her coat.

She drummed her fingers on the counter, looking around. God, she loved this place. It was a staple in her life, even when she hadn't been there. She connected Luke's with some sort of hazy thought of home. She ate here. Rory had her first coffee here. _Rory_…_Rory's graduation!_ "Luke," she began, "I was wondering…"

He nodded, still messing with the coffee maker.

"Rory's graduation is in two weeks, and she has an extra ticket, and I was wondering if you'd like to go? With me?" She held her breath, waiting.

Luke turned around, slowly, all thoughts of coffee pushed back. He covered her fidgety hand, still drumming away, with his own. "I'd love to," he replied.


	16. Vengeance

Thanks again for the reviews, guys. You are all great. I apologize again for the delay – but again, real life is getting in the way. Silly. Enjoy, and feedback, as usual, is always welcome.

Chapter 16: Vengeance

Sookie glared at the platter of food. "It smells funny."

"No, it doesn't," Lorelai replied, wearily.

"It tastes funny."

"No, it doesn't."

"It looks funny."

"No, it doesn't." Lorelai put her head on the counter. "It looks, tastes, smells and anything else to do with this dish – it's great. Please, Sookie, just serve the meal. Our guests are getting antsy and they pay to eat excellent food here. You are the excellent chef. Now give them the food, so we can get pretty, pretty money."

"Are you sure?" Sookie walked around the dish. "It looks -"

"No, it doesn't!" Lorelai threw up her hands. She turned to the servers. "Just take the food out, please?"

The servers looked between her and Sookie, nervously. They chose Lorelai, and carried trays out, looking back. Lorelai slumped against the counter. "What's wrong with you? What's wrong with _me_?" Sookie asked.

"We already know," Lorelai replied, going to the coffee machine, "We're crazy."

"In your case, I think it's a bit more serious."

"Sookie!" Lorelai ducked as sauce went flying off the spoon.

She giggled. "Sorry."

Lorelai straightened up. "That's okay."

"You look funny. Are you okay?"

"Gee, thanks, Sookie, I thought this dress made me look hot."

"I mean – you know what I mean. You look like you're upset about something."

"It's nothing."

Sookie tilted her head, waiting.

"Okay, so I have to come up with an excuse so Luke can bow out of Friday night dinner."

"Emily invited him?"

"I didn't even tell her about us. She's psychic. It's freaky. It's like she can tell you're happy and must go out and ruin it."

"I don't think she's -"

"Emily Gilmore, Sookie. Don't assume." Lorelai inhaled her cup of coffee and reached for the pot again. "And I went into the diner this morning, and Luke mentions that April is coming for a visit."

"Ohhh." Sookie cringed. "Now what?"

"I don't know." She rubbed her forehead. "I'm going to my office. Don't tell Michel I'm there. He'll get frustrated and then I can laugh." She filled her cup up again and marched out of the kitchen, her heels clicking in a harsh pattern.

* * *

"What are you doing?" Lorelai demanded, into the phone. 

"Studying for my last final. Getting ready for graduation. It's kind of imminent, right? What are you doing?" Rory asked.

"Lying upside down on the couch."

"So the blood can rush to your head?"

"Yes."

"Right. Okay. I have to go. I have to study. Watch some TV if you need entertainment."

"Rory…"

"I'll swing by this weekend. My final is two days from now."

"Okay." Lorelai sat up. "Love you, babe."

"Bye."

Lorelai chucked the phone back on the couch and lay back down. Paul Anka walked in. "Hey," she said. "I bet you're wondering why I'm doing this, too."

"Lorelai?"

"I know you just did not say that," she said to the dog. "Unless I'm a much better teacher than I think."

"Lorelai…"

She struggled to prop herself up. "Hey, Luke."

"What are you doing?" he offered her a hand.

"Formulating a plan for my next bank job."

"What?"

"I was talking to Rory."

He nodded, and sat on the couch. "April's arriving next Thursday."

"Oh?" she tried to keep her tone steady.

"I was wondering if you'd like to come to the airport."

"Sure. I don't have anything to do."

"The inn?"

"The diner?"

"Fair enough," Luke leaned back.

"What brings you here?" she asked. "Don't you have someone to kill, food to cook, stuff like that?"

"I've already killed four people this week," Luke replied. "We can't have Taylor too suspicious."

"Isn't he next on your list? After he snuck over to the diner and tried to repaint the window frames pastel green?"

"Right. He's my next target. I need someone to distract the police. Tuesday work for you?"

"I don't know. I always imagined myself getting arrested on a Wednesday," Lorelai mused, reaching for the TV remote.

Luke rolled his eyes. "Good to know."

"Vital information, of course." Lorelai replied, leaning into him.

* * *

Crash. Bang. Whoosh. Howl. Lorelai stuck her head underneath her pillow. "Go away," she mumbled. 

"Wha-?" Luke mumbled.

"Nothing." Lorelai took her head out and stared at the ceiling. It was white. She wondered if she had ever painted it, herself. It had been done when they had the house remodelled, right? She couldn't remember. She couldn't sleep. She couldn't think. She was wondering if she could even breathe.

She needed to talk to Luke.

* * *

She should've known it would begin and end badly. "Well, how did you think I was going to feel?" she asked, trying to be the calm one.

"How the hell was I supposed to know?" Luke demanded. "I'm not a mind reader."

"No way, I thought you were psychic," Lorelai snapped.

"You got married!" he yelled.

"I was there," she muttered sulkily. _This is great. Honestly_. "I was depressed and scared and alone and I thought you didn't love me, okay? Yes, I hurt you. I hurt me. I left us in a pile of anger and frustration, and yeah, I probably was the one to make the last blow, but why didn't you notice anything at all? You should've figured something out when I started avoiding you. I didn't peg you as clueless. I pegged you as a guy that would figure out something was wrong."

"You didn't talk. You weren't talking. I knew something was up, Lorelai, but I wasn't going to push _you_."

"And look where that got us." She put her face in her hands. "How screwed up do you have to be to end up like this? _Look at us_. We have misunderstood to this point. We should be studied somewhere."

"Lorelai." She looked up. "I wanted to marry you."

"Why didn't you say yes?" Her voice was climbing higher.

"You don't just spring that on someone!"

"You didn't have a problem with me 'just springing' it on you the first time!"

"I had a problem with you yelling and crying in the street!"

"Well, if you had said yes, I wouldn't have been yelling and crying in the street!"

"So it's my fault." He glared at her. "It's my fault that I didn't say yes and then stuck a gun to your head and made you sleep with Christopher."

She gaped at him. He stood up. "Thanks for that, Lorelai."

"Luke, I didn't say that."

"Did you mean it?"

"No!"

He looked down at her, huddled on the couch. "I have to go."

She leaned on a pillow. It was still warm from Luke's back. The door slammed behind him. She shut her eyes. "Stupid," she managed, as a tear ran down her cheek.


	17. Marshmallow Thieves

To anyone who's reviewed, put this on their alerts, favourited, or even read this, I thank you. You guys are great!

Like I said earlier, I see an end in sight. Depending on the length of the chapters, it should be fairly soon. In my world, that means a while! So…whatever. Feedback is appreciated….enjoy the chapter….and I still don't own Gilmore Girls.

Chapter 17: Marshmallow Thieves

"_Hey, this is Rory. Say something after the beep."_

Lorelai hung up the phone. She was fighting with Luke. Sookie was doing whatever. Rory was doing whatever. Was there anyone who wasn't occupied, someone who would be able to talk to her?

She checked her calendar. It said October…of last year. She cringed. It was Thursday night. Thursday night meant town meeting. She hadn't been to a town meeting in forever. Lorelai sighed. She reached for her coat.

* * *

"You're late, Lorelai." Taylor sounded disapproving.

"I know," she replied. "Sorry?"

"Every time you're late, it's a reflection on our town. It brings down the pride, and ruins our image."

"I'm sorry, Taylor. Next time, I'll be here before you. Kirk and I can sit here all day, waiting."

Kirk turned around and scowled at her.

"Lorelai, would you just sit down?" Taylor demanded.

"Sorry," she muttered. Lorelai slipped in the last seat, crossing her arms. She could see a familiar ball cap ahead of her. She slid down a little. She had been hoping to hide. But this was ridiculous. He hated town meetings. Lorelai knew that, after all the times she had to cajole him into going. Why was he here?

_You're gong off the deep-end, Lorelai_, she told herself. _Depressed, happy, angry, depressed…patterns are not cool._She sat up straight again, determined that Luke wouldn't see her pain before she cornered him into another talk.

"…and we've come to yet another dire matter, people of Stars Hollow! We must band together and stop this -"

"Taylor, it would be so much easier if you just told us what it was," Miss Patty said.

"Oh, right." He cleared his throat. "Someone has been sneaking in Doose's and stealing a bag of marshmallows every night for the past week."

Everyone laughed. "That's not a town issue, Taylor," Luke called out.

"People, please! I just need to know who."

"Someone takes all that trouble to sneak into Doose's to steal on bag of marshmallows every night?" Lorelai asked.

"Yes! I am losing money!" Taylor replied.

"Don't worry, Taylor, I have a fool-proof plan that will make sure no one breaks into the market," Kirk said.

Lorelai rolled her eyes, and tried not to laugh.

* * *

She pushed open the door to the diner. "Hey," she said, trying to keep her voice steady.

Luke glanced up, and looked back down at the pile of receipts.

"That was a great meeting, huh?"

He grunted. Lorelai felt tears prick her eyes. "Okay." She sat at the counter, in front of him. "I don't want to fight," she said quietly. "I'm tired of fighting."

"What do you want me to say?" he replied.

"I don't know." She sucked in a breath, waiting. He didn't say anything.

Lorelai tapped her fingers on the counter. "I want you to be mad at me. I don't want you to run away. I want you to understand. I want you to forgive me. I don't want to be shut out again. I want you to talk to me. Or look at me."

"You can't always get what you want."

"I know."

"Good."

"Luke?" she asked.

"Yeah?"

"Be mad or don't be mad. There's no halfway here." She picked up her purse, and left the diner, letting the bell jangle behind her.

* * *

"Mom!" Rory hugged her in the doorway of the house.

"Hey, sweets. What's with the love? You ignore me for days, and now this?"

"Ha, ha. You're funny." Rory dragged three huge bags in behind her. "So. Are you okay?"

"Okay?"

"You look funny."

"Why is everyone saying that? I do not look funny."

"Fine." Rory crossed her arms. "How's Luke?"

"Oh, you know…Luke-ish."

"You have no idea, do you?"

Lorelai sank on the couch. "No."

"Did you guys talk?" Rory sat next to her, forgetting the open door and her possessions.

"Yes. It ended badly. He yelled, I yelled, we're not talking. End of story. I tried to talk to him the other night, he said nothing. I'm fine. He doesn't want to talk, we don't have to talk."

"Give him time."

"I'm tired of waiting. I'm tired of time."

Rory frowned, nodding. "Okay."

"Okay? That's all you're saying?"

"Give me hand with my stuff, please?"

Lorelai followed her outside. "Okay?" she repeated. "No lectures, no advice, no chastising?"

"No." Rory ducked her head in the trunk of her car. She pulled out a box, dumping it on the ground. Lorelai leaned over to get it.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm just as finer as you are. Finer, in fact."

"Finer?" Lorelai put the box on her hip. "You're acting very strange."

"That makes two of us."

"You're really not going to say anything."

"I've already meddled. You're an adult, you can fix it."

Lorelai followed Rory inside. "Yeah, since I'm so good at making up with Luke."

"You've done it before."

"Who's saying I'll do it again?"

Rory shrugged, carrying her box into her bedroom. Lorelai sat on top of the other box, leaning her chin on her hand.

* * *

There was a knock on the door. Rory slipped out of the room, leaving Lorelai to answer. She took a deep breath before opening it. Luke.

"Hi," she said.

"Can I come in?" he asked.

"Sure." She stepped aside. Awkwardness abounded.

He sat on the couch, his hands on his knees, looking out of place but somehow belonging there. Lorelai sat on the arm of a chair, across the room. Luke looked away. "I want to forgive you," he said. "I want you to understand my side. I don't want to see you looking the way you did. I want to see you happy. I want you to forgive me."

Lorelai nodded. "Okay," she replied, softly.


	18. Salty Pools

Okay, the length fairy waved her wand over me and has blessed me the attention span to write a decent chapter. I'm sure some of you will be very happy to hear that this one is a bit longer than the last. Thanks for the reviews, everyone. So…enjoy another chapter!

Chapter 18: Salty Pools

"So," Rory began, staring at the door.

"So?" Lorelai asked, rummaging around in her purse.

"So, have you come up with an excuse why Luke couldn't come with us?" Rory asked.

Lorelai pulled out a foil-wrapped object. "Chocolate liquor?"

"Mom!" Rory glared. "At least come up with a plausible story before we go in."

"No, seriously, they're really good. Want one?"

"Mom."

"Rory." Lorelai popped the chocolate in her mouth. "What do you want me to tell her? Luke didn't want to come. We just made up after another, more sensitive fight, and I didn't feel like pushing him out the door just to come here. He had to work. All of these and every other thing I've thought of will not be good enough for Emily Gilmore. I could tell her he came down with some really scary disease, but then she'd call every hospital in the state to find him, to see if I'm telling the truth."

"Ooo-kay." Rory looked away. "What are you going to tell her?"

"I'm going to have about five martinis, and then I'll tell her."

"Yes, because that will work," Rory hissed.

"I don't really have any other plans, do you?"

"Tell her he couldn't to come?"

"Oh, innocent child…" Lorelai shook her head. "You know that Emily Gilmore won't believe that. She'll think it's some sort of personal snub, which in this case it is, and then she'll send her ninjas after Luke, for the rest of his life."

"No more chocolate for you." Rory snatched Lorelai's purse, and rang the doorbell.

"Hey!"

"Just looking out for your well-being." The door opened. A sullen maid, new, of course, ushered them inside the house. "Thanks," Rory murmured, handing over her coat and Lorelai's purse.

"Girls!" Emily exclaimed, hearing their shoes on the floor.

"I've never felt more welcome here in my life," Lorelai stated, sitting on the couch.

"Lorelai," Emily admonished. She looked around. "Where's Luke?"

"Um, Grandma…" Rory started.

"Where's Dad?" Lorelai blurted.

"Oh, at work, as usual. He should be arriving home any minute," Emily replied airily. "Now, where's Luke? I'm sure you extended – oh my God! No, you didn't! Lorelai, that is incredibly rude! You should tell people when they've been invited to function, when you have been specifically instructed to inform someone -"

"You know what they say when you assume?" Lorelai asked.

"I don't have time to try and sort out your cryptic remarks," Emily retorted.

"I never said I was back with Luke," Lorelai replied.

"That means you are." Emily turned from the drink cart, an unreadable look on her face. "You are!"

"Damn," Lorelai muttered to herself. She put on a smile. "Yes, Mother."

"Let's just hope it sticks this time," Emily continued, handing Lorelai her martini.

Lorelai stared at her mother. _Ouch._ She continued smiling, staring at her drink. "I suppose we'll see Luke at the graduation next week," Emily said.

Rory leaned over to her own mother. "How many martinis do you want before graduation?"

* * *

"There's nothing on the radio!" Lorelai yelled. "It's all manufactured pop crap. Seriously, who get money to write these?" 

Luke appeared at the head of the stairs, fiddling with his tie. "What do you want me to do about it?"

"Nothing." She crossed her arms. "You look nice."

"Thanks." He finished with his tie. "So do you."

She untwisted the strap of her dress. "Christopher's going to be there," she half-whispered.

"Don't sit me next to him, and there'll be no homicides," Luke replied.

"Okay." Lorelai sighed. "You're being so nice."

"You find that weird?"

"No. I feel like I don't deserve it."

His face tightened. He swallowed. "It's fine."

_No, it's not._ She let out another sigh. _But it could be_. "She's graduating today. From Yale."

"I know," Luke replied, sitting beside her.

"It's…"

"Yeah."

Lorelai closed her eyes. "We have one last trip, before she really leaves. But I don't know…it's weird. Empty. Even if she hasn't really lived here for four years."

"She's not that little kid who tried to tell me that coffee was good for ten year olds," Luke agreed.

A smile worked its way to Lorelai's face. "Yeah…with chilli fries. You can't resist the eyes, Luke."

"No," he said. "I never told you which pair was harder to fight with."

"I think you have," she murmured. Lorelai bowed her head, looking at the entwined hands, and felt a teardrop fall. "Let's go. I don't want to waste all my tears in the house."

Luke gave her a look, before giving her a hand to get up from the couch.

* * *

He told himself he was thankful that Rory's graduation was outdoors. Still…a thousand degrees and he was sitting five seats over from Christopher…it wasn't the most pleasant thing he'd experienced. _Surprised he came to this one._ Luke allowed himself the satisfaction of directing nasty comments in his mind at Christopher. The other man had looked uncomfortable when Lorelai had approached Emily, Richard and Christopher, with Luke in tow. Luke had seen the strain in Lorelai's face, and the uncertainty. She was staring straight ahead now, peering at the graduates, looking for Rory. Tears were already forming in her eyes. He put his hand on top of hers. Perversely, hoping that Christopher would see. In reality, just happy that Lorelai was _there._ With him. Happy that he got to share in this part of Rory's life. 

"Lorelai Leigh Gilmore."

Rory made her way across the stage, looking a little off-balance. Lorelai was smiling and crying at the same time, and by the way her eyes sparkled, Luke knew that she knew why Rory was looking the way she did. Personally, he still couldn't believe Rory was old enough to drive a car, let alone graduate from college, or be legally allowed to drink.

She shook hands with the dean and flipped her tassel, grinning out at the crowd. Lorelai gave a quick wave, in between claps and wiping her eyes. Luke felt his own tears. Lorelai squeezed his hand tighter, taking her eyes off Rory and onto him. "She did it," she whispered, under cover of the crowd clapping for the next happy graduate.

Luke peered into the salty blue orbs. He kissed the back of her hand. "So did you."

* * *

The two of them were laughing and crying at the same time. Lorelai hugged Rory, letting her tears soak into the graduation robe. "You're still crying?" Rory managed. 

"I'm a watering pot, babe," Lorelai replied, feeling laughter swell. "Sorry?"

"It's okay," Rory sniffed. "We get to cry."

"I guess so." Lorelai let her go. "Look at my little graduate!"

"I feel a little tipsy," Rory admitted.

"Don't drink before life-changing ceremonies," Lorelai advised.

"Oh, now you tell me." Rory hugged Lorelai again. "Thank you so much! For everything!"

"You'll be thanking me for the rest of your life, so get used it now," Lorelai teased.

"I will." Rory wiped her eyes, trying not to smudge her makeup. She looked at Luke, Emily, Richard and Christopher, standing in a semi-circle around them. She laughed, and extended her arms. "Come on, you guys…"

* * *

Lorelai glanced at Luke over the hugs, and thank you's and more crying, he grinned back. 

"I think your burgers taste even better now, Luke," Rory announced.

"You've had half a bottle of wine and the last of my chocolate liquors," Lorelai pointed out.

"Yeah, I guess," Rory took another bite of her burger. "Wow, this is really, really good."

Luke laughed; he couldn't help it. "So you've said."

"What do you think?" Lorelai asked him. "Should we take pictures of her graduation hangover, too?"

"Oh, no you don't." Rory jumped up, knocking over her chair. She dashed for the stairs, in search of the camera. "I'll be damned if you do."

Lorelai looked back at Luke, still giggling. "I think she gets more like me everyday."

He rolled his eyes.

* * *

She tiptoed out of the room, wearing pyjama pants and one of his flannel shirts. The sun isn't out – it's not a Lorelai time of day. She wonders why she hasn't got an ear-splitting headache. She should have one. It's early and she had been drinking last night. But she doesn't. 

Rory's door is open – she's lying in bed, curled up, hugging a pillow. She has an old Bangles t-shirt on, with a pair of sweatpants. She looked so little, just lying there. Lorelai's heart ached.

She moved into the kitchen, sitting at the table after starting the coffeepot. It gurgled to life, and she sighed, happy. Just happy. It was a nice feeling.

She heard footsteps on the stairs, and she turned her head, waiting. She felt that today, unlike other days, she could wait.


	19. I Want to Learn a Love Song

Ah, gotta love real life. Lots of company and no time – but fortunately, things have calmed down some. And now I get to give you this chapter! It's a bit filler-y, I warn you. Cheers. Enjoy. Feedback equals love.

Chapter 19: I Want To Learn a Love Song

"Do you think we can last two weeks?" Lorelai asked. "It feels wrong."

"Go. I'm fine." Luke leaned back on the couch. "April will come in a few weeks."

"I know. But we just…and I feel like I should stay," she admitted.

"Rory is going to have a job soon. She's been for interviews everywhere. She'll be gone. You should spend one last trip together."

"Yeah." Lorelai wrapped her arms around her knees. "Thanks. How come you can always say the right thing?"

"I say the right thing?" Luke chuckled. "That's interesting."

"Interesting, huh? I talk all the time, but never really say anything. When you talk…it means, something, Luke."

"You're serious tonight," he said.

"I checked my calendar. Today's emotion was serious, and since I laughed when Kirk showed up at the inn, begging Sookie for a recipe for cookies or cake or something and she threw a pepper at him, I felt now was the time to be serious."

"Okay." Luke stared back at the TV.

She leaned on his shoulder. "So…can we watch a movie?"

Luke paled. "Not _The Illusionist_ again."

"Please?"

"No."

"Luke?"

"No."

Lorelai sighed. "Fine. Then we're watching _Music and Lyrics_."

"You hate that movie."

"So do you."

She lunged for the remote, while Luke held it away from her. "Not fair."

"Now I have control," he mused.

Lorelai crossed her arms and pouted. "When was the last time you watched TV voluntarily?"

"Last night," Luke replied.

"I've influenced you to that point? Oh, Luke," she lamented.

"Or we don't have to watch TV," he replied.

"Sounds fine to me," she said, smiling.

He looked at her, a strange look in his eye. "Are you going to say it?"

"Nah," Lorelai said. "Not as much fun as…" She gave him a coy smile.

"Now that was dirty," Luke muttered. He turned off the TV.

* * *

The alarm sounded. Lorelai wanted to find a hammer to break the clock. The radio kept playing though, softly – she should've set it to the shrill beep. That would give her more motivation to get up. Instead, she laid awake, listening to the radio.

She nudged Luke. "Luke," she stage-whispered. "Listen."

Luke grunted. "Luke," she said, a little louder, a little more insistent. "Wake up."

He rolled over. "What?" he asked.

"Just listen to the song."

"It's Harry Chapin," he muttered. "So?"

"Maybe you don't have to learn a love song before I leave, but before I come back would be nice," she replied, teasing.

"I'll get on that," he replied.

* * *

"Got everything?" Rory asked, rubbing her eyes.

"Did I say we needed to leave this early?" Lorelai asked, dropping herself on the pile of luggage.

"You said we should leave as early as possible, since we're cutting the trip short by about four weeks," Rory replied, leaning against the doorframe.

"I know what I said." Lorelai stretched. "I just forgot the effects this hour had on me."

"Like complete catatonia?" Rory replied. "I wish."

"That's three o'clock, silly, not five o'clock." Lorelai's eyes shut. "It's five o'clock. Unbelievable."

"You said…" Rory warned.

"I know." Lorelai tried to stand up, before flopping dramatically back on the suitcases. "Do you think we could wait a while?"

Rory swiped the keys. "I'll drive."

Lorelai picked up a bag. "Have we got a map?"

"Yes," Rory replied. "I was asking if you had everything."

"I don't know. I don't even remember packing," she replied.

"You don't?" Rory asked. "Did you pack?"

"I think so."

"Mom. Did you pack?"

"Yes. Relax. You're worse than Luke, who hounded me all last night." She rolled her eyes. "I'm packed. I have what I need."

"Okay," Rory said. "Ready?"

Lorelai glanced around. "Yeah. Let's go."

"Alright," Rory said. She picked up more bags. "We're going for two weeks. Why do you need this much stuff?"

"We're going to be going on very scary, thrill-inducing, roller coasters that will make us extremely sick, especially after we eat several corn dogs," Lorelai replied. "I need this much stuff."

Rory wrinkled her nose. "Thanks for that image."

"You're welcome." Lorelai slung the last of the bags over her shoulder. "Let's go."

* * *

"You're crazy," Luke told her.

"I know. But it's fun." Lorelai rolled over on her hotel bed. "I love it."

"Eating disturbing amounts of junk food before going on a roller coaster is crazy."

"Oh, Luke, you just don't get it."

"No, I'm missing out, apparently."

"I made it to the bathroom all times."

"Congratulations."

"So…" Lorelai propped her arm up. "Has anyone broken into my house while I'm gone?"

"No. Just me."

"You broke into my house?"

"I used a key."

"Oh. Much better."

"Paul Anka has been glaring at me."

"Dogs don't glare, Luke."

"Your dog does."

"Lay off the heath food. Paul Anka can't glare. Besides, he likes you better than I do."

"Sure."

"He does!"

"I hear you, Lorelai."

She grinned. "I miss you."

"Same here."

"Did you learn the love song yet?"

She could hear his even breaths. "Lorelai," he said, "I love you."

* * *

"I think I'm going to throw up!" Rory yelled in Lorelai's ear.

"I know I'm going to throw up!" Lorelai yelled back.

They made it to the end, staggering off the coaster together. "Oh my God," Rory said, "I will never be able to walk properly again."

"So you'll look like a drunk for the rest of your life?" Lorelai asked.

"Way to be supportive, Mom."

Lorelai put her arm around Rory. "Don't worry; I'll never be able to walk in a straight line again, either."

"What will we do?"

"I guess we'll finally have to go to that cave with a never-ending supply of Sephora products and stay there forever."

"Shame," Rory commented. "I was looking forward to my first job."

"Don't worry, kid, the real world isn't as great as they say."

Rory unlocked the Jeep. "Fifty-seven roller coasters, a ton of hot dogs, cotton candy and pop, and two weeks, later, we're going home."

"It's about time. I've worn these jeans three days in a row."

"Thanks for the info."

"You're welcome." Lorelai started the Jeep. "Home we go."

"Mom?" Rory asked.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

Lorelai pulled out of the parking lot. She wanted to probe into Rory's thoughts, to try and figure out why she said thanks. But she let it go. In her own way, she knew. "You're welcome, babe."

* * *

She threw her arms around Luke's neck, as soon as Rory and April had disappeared from sight. She was happy to see him. She was happy to be home. Her moods, had run he course again, ending up where she knew she should be, instead of where she felt she should be. She stepped back. "I love you, too," she said. 


	20. Chances

Alright, my muse is being unfair to me. Seriously. Must I pour all my concentration into this story when I have a few others that are crying in the corner? Apparently so. Bet you guys are glad to hear that I'm focusing on this one. Anyway, since my muse wants me to write this, I'll tell you now that this is the second last chapter. The last should be posted fairly soon after this. And for the sake of propriety, I'll reiterate the fact that all future scenes are in italics. Enjoy.

Chapter 20: Chances

Lorelai opened some book of Rory's that had been left on the table. Luke was in the kitchen, making supper. The smells wafted into the living room and up her nose. She was starving. "Luke," she called, "I need food."

He entered the room and tossed a chocolate bar at her. "Twenty minutes."

"Fair enough." Lorelai ripped the wrapper open. She took a bite. Heaven.

Rory had left for a job, with a magazine three weeks ago. April had gone back to New Mexico. Luke was essentially living in her house. She sighed, content. She was happy. She had Luke. Rory was gone, but she was living out her dream. She'd bonded – sort of – with April. Life was good. Life was happy.

She felt guilty. Still. Her guilt managed to sneak its way into everything she did these days, thinking, _if I hadn't screwed it up, maybe we'd be married_. She didn't really think it was all her fault, but maybe she was trying to compensate. She threw the grade, Right? She was the one who took the hammer and smashed what they had, in the end. He threw the first punch, but she knocked him down.

Lorelai was running out of metaphors for her guilt. It had been with her so long, she realized, that it seemed comforting to her. Did she like having that guilt? Did it help excuse what she did?

She hadn't realized she'd gotten so analytical in her old age. She let a grin slip by, as she stared at the page of the book, the words swimming before her eyes.

Rory had wanted to talk. She hadn't wanted to talk. Now she wanted to talk, and Rory was busy and gone. Oh, so typical. She moaned into her hands. "Why is my life a big ironic mess?"

"What?" Luke called.

"Nothing."

The couch slid as she threw herself back on it. She felt guilty. She hated the guilt. She liked the guilt. She needed the guilt. She was punishing herself with the guilt. It was there, though, zapping her dry.

Luke had said she was forgiven. They argued, he said he was sorry, she said she was sorry. That was a few months ago. She thought she was done with those feelings. Hatred, anger, loneliness…she was out of that draining relationship.

But she wasn't, was she? She still felt responsible. Was she going to feel responsible forever?

"What are you thinking about?" Luke asked.

"What?" she replied, shaken.

"You're quiet and reading." He grinned. "Barring the world ending, I'm assuming it's something less serious."

"Are you suggesting I'm never quiet?" she demanded, in her banter mode now.

"When you have no caffeine coursing your veins."

She narrowed her eyes. "Did you give me decaf this morning?"

"Can't you taste the caffeine or something? You're paranoid," Luke said.

"So you did." She crossed her arms, glaring.

"Fine. Die an early death."

"Coffee, please." She smiled, enjoying the irritated look he had. "Oh, Luke."

He shook his head. "I will get you another cup of coffee, then."

"Good." She curled back up on the couch. "What's for supper?"

"Nothing. We'll starve."

"Luke!"

"You'll see."

"Oh, are you making some sort of fancy food to impress me?"

"Sure." He handed her the cup of coffee.

"Thanks." She accepted it, kissing his cheek. He disappeared into the kitchen. Lorelai sipped at her coffee. Her guilt crept up and cuddled up with her on the couch.

* * *

Luke watched Lorelai set the table. Her movements were graceful, despite the fact that she could trip over a speck of dust. He grinned, as she argued with him over what plates to use. He wanted her to use the normal plates; she wanted to use the crazy themed plates she had never given up, even when she had purged her house of all kinds of crap, just to please him.

In reality, he just liked arguing with her, over the little things. "You think there's nothing wrong with eating off plates that four year olds would want?"

"They're Charlie's Angels plates, not Elmo plates. Unless you want to eat off my Elmo plates."

"You have Elmo plates?"

She smirked. "You want to know?"

"No, I don't." He grabbed some normal plates. "We're using these."

"Fine." She sat at the table, following him with her eyes. He shifted uncomfortably.

"Do you mind?"

"Not at all. I'm enjoying the view."

"Lorelai."

Her smile was wide. "You know, some guys would enjoy getting checked out."

"Uh huh." He didn't deny that.

"Your embarrassment is attractive, though."

"Good to know."

He turned to put a basket on the table, and saw her expression change from flirtatious to sad. He sighed. "What's wrong?"

She looked at him, sharply. "Nothing."

"Liar." He stared back, accusing.

"Did you forgive me?" Lorelai asked. She fiddled with a fork.

"Forgive you?" he asked. "Yes, I forgave you. Did you forgive me?"

Lorelai nodded. Luke stopped stirring. He sat with her, and took her hand. "What's wrong?" he repeated, more forceful this time.

"I'm fine," she replied. "I think I'm fine now."

He gave her a skeptical glare. He returned to his pot. It was sticking. Luke cursed under his breath. "It comes in waves," Lorelai murmured. "I'm swimming along, and then I'm swept under." She tapped her fingers on the table. "Irrational guilt. It's stupid, but I can't help it. I pick now to feel guilty."

"You don't have to."

She smiled again, wryly. "I know. But it had to come sometime. Now, when everything's great."

He nodded, not sure what to say. She stood up, and came up behind him, wrapping her arms around him. "I'll get over it, soon, I hope. Just another step."

"Okay." He kept stirring.

"I never thought I'd get so…melancholy after Rory left. She hasn't lived at home for years."

"This time, you think she's leaving for real," he explained.

"But she'll be back," she said, sounding unsure.

"She'll be back," Luke confirmed.

She kissed him. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He gestured to the food. "Supper?"

"You are a saint, Luke Danes." She picked her plate. "I'm nominating you for sainthood."

"I'll buy a new suit."

She flashed a real smile now.

Luke watched her serve up some food. He felt a rush of emotion. He liked this play at domesticity, eating supper together at home, and the conversations about anything. He'd missed this. The love, and camaraderie. Her insults and his sarcasm, making a perfect conversation. Weeks and months had attuned them to this. He felt her pain everyday, her upset – he'd known this was coming – but he also felt it diminishing. He felt a twinge of anticipation.

He had to plan his moment.


	21. Imagine

Well. This is it. The last chapter. Thanks everyone who has followed this from the beginning. You guys are amazing.

My muse is satisfied for now, in case any of you are wondering.

And I'll say it one last time: any wedding/future scenes are in italics, to go against the flow.

Chapter 21: Imagine

"Hey," Rory said into her phone. "What's up?"

"Where are you?" Lorelai asked. "You sound fuzzy."

"Running errands," Rory replied. "I ran out of mascara. When getting me fifteen million bottles of shampoo, you forgot to get me more than one tube of mascara."

"I didn't get you any mascara."

"Exactly. What's up?"

"Nothing." Lorelai drummed her fingers on her desk. "Just hoping my boss doesn't catch me talking to my daughter on the reception desk's phone."

"Yeah, keep an eye out for her - she's a little crazy. How many guests do you have?"

"Full."

"So she won't care as much."

"No. But she is curious about her boyfriend's behaviour and may take it out on others, questioning and being frustrated."

"And what is her boyfriend doing?" Rory asked, laughing.

"Acting strange."

"Stranger than usual?"

"Sure."

"Mom, is this some sort of weird feeling that you have and you're projecting it on Luke?"

"No." She examined her fingernail. "I don't think so."

"Talk to him."

"Like that'll work. Luke never talks about anything that he's determined to keep under wraps."

"Well, it's probably good, then," Rory said, firmly. "Did you know how many different kinds of mascara they sell?"

"I wondered where all those ads were coming from."

"I have to go. Work is calling."

"As usual. I love that my baby is a working girl now."

"I know you do. Bye."

"Love you, kiddo."

* * *

Lorelai walked to the diner. A nice fall day, leaves blowing, tourists coming, Taylor freaking….she glanced over at the town square. Taylor sounded like he was trying to become a human megaphone. She stopped beside Babette. "What's he doing?"

"Kirk's gone and crushed the giant leaves for the fall festival again, doll," Babette replied.

"Again? He does this every year," Lorelai sighed.

"You'd think Taylor would get someone else to put them up," Babette agreed.

"Yeah. I'll see you later, Babette," Lorelai said.

"See ya later, Lorelai. You look nice, by the way, sugar."

"Thanks," Lorelai said.

Luke's was mostly empty, everyone having congregated outside to watch Taylor scream at Kirk. "Hey," she called, peering into the kitchen.

"Hey." Luke appeared, reaching for the coffeepot. "I thought you had to work."

"My boss didn't seem to mind when I talked to Rory during work hours, so I figured she wouldn't mind if I cut out to go get nutrition," she replied.

"What you eat isn't considered nutrition, Lorelai," Luke said.

"And how sexy was that," she purred.

He rolled his eyes. "You'll never get tired of that, will you?"

"Nope," she said, downing her coffee. "More coffee, please?"

"One death wish, coming right up," he said.

"Cheers," Lorelai replied. "Mm, okay. So, what are we doing tonight?"

"What?"

"You said you had a plan, for tonight."

Luke's eyes came back in focus. "Right. Yeah. I'll make you dinner, okay?"

Lorelai frowned. "Okay…" She looked at him, trying to analyze the look on his face. He seemed distant. She tried to find a crack in the armour. He was far away from her. A flutter of panic beat against her chest. "I'll see you later." She picked up her purse and bolted.

* * *

Luke felt the beatings of anticipation, stronger than ever. He was close. Very close. He had a speech planned. He was nervous. He was excited. He was scared. He took another deep breath, trying to calm himself. He had to make it till Lorelai appeared at her house, trailing complaints and the scent of coffee.

She was a complex creature. He shook his head, searching her cupboards. She had left his meddling alone, letting him do what he wanted. She let him even bring in some apples one night.

He felt her presence before he heard or saw her. Lorelai was a powerful presence. She lit up rooms, she drove him crazy. He always knew when she was there. He had a feeling she knew where he was at all times, as well, with her Luke radar.

"Hello," she said, taking off her coat, training her eyes on his face, unsure. He smiled at her, trying to alleviate the look on her face.

"Hey," he replied.

"Smells good," she offered. She was awkward here. She was afraid of what might happen.

"Thanks." Luke fingered the box, behind the pot. "Lorelai?"

"Yeah?" she asked, twisting a bracelet around her wrist. A tell. She had several.

He took another breath, and enveloped the box in his hand. "Lorelai, will you marry me?" Speech gone, intentions out the window. He had to do this the right way. Maybe it didn't need to be planned. He opened his hand, revealing the box. She took it, flipping the lid open.

"It's the ring," she breathed, staring at him. "I wondered where that went. You took it?"

"Your back door lock doesn't work," he said. Luke felt his own panic.

"You fixed it," she reminded him.

"Yes."

Lorelai brushed a finger along the diamond. "Yes. Yes, I will."

Luke blinked. He saw her fumble with the ring. He slid it onto her finger. "Good."

"Solder," she replied, leaning to kiss him.

"Solder?" he managed to ask, gasping.

"Way to make it stick," she teased.

"Trust me, it will," he said. His hand slid around her back. She kissed his neck.

"Good."

* * *

"_So," Lorelai began, climbing in beside him. "Today?"_

"_Best day of my life," he replied._

"_Really?"_

"_No, I'm lying."_

"_I figured." She traced his jaw line with a finger. "You always do."_

"_Yeah, I always do."_

_She straddled his lap. "Ready?"_

* * *

Alright. The end. Thanks for reading.


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